


Tales From PE

by mccorkleff



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/F, High School, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 46,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25117816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mccorkleff/pseuds/mccorkleff
Summary: Hino Rei was... content with her school life. She attended a good school, received top grades, and got along well enough with her classmates. Yes, content was the perfect word for how she felt about school. That is, until a certain blonde transfers in to the neighboring class.
Relationships: Aino Minako/Hino Rei
Comments: 11
Kudos: 94





	1. Soccer 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on fanfiction.net and will continue to update on both sites. I wanted to see how AO3 works and if the feedback is any different here. Writing is a hobby for me, one that I would like to improve. To that end please feel free to let me know what works and what doesn't, what you like and what you don't. Thanks for reading.

The first time Hino Rei saw Aino Minako was on the first day of her second year of high school, in the locker room before PE. Normally seeing another girl in a locker room was nothing to take note of, however this particular girl had just transferred in, and no one seemed to be able to talk about anything else. Rei had spent all day listening to her classmates gossip about 'the new girl in the class across the hall, who had gone from regular girl, to blonde-haired delinquent, to shameful harlot, to ditzy air-head throughout the day. Frankly, it was getting annoying.

But when she saw her for the first time, Rei could kind of understand what all the fuss was about. Even among all the chattering, changing girls the transfer student stood out. The other girl was tall, about as tall as Rei was, with long legs. She had full, blonde hair that fell to her butt, and a pretty face capped by bright, blue eyes. She was also... thin wasn't quite the right word, and Rei furrowed her brow trying to think of a better one. It hit her when the other girl took her shirt off; fit. Aino Minako was incredibly fit. Yes, it was actually very easy to see why everyone was talking about this girl.

Rei's eyes focused on the blonde's face and she was startled to discover that the other girl was looking back at her. She quickly averted her eyes and started changing, acting as nonchalant as she could. Rei was sure that, as a transfer student, the other girl had been dealing with stares and whispers all day, and she didn't want to contribute to alienating the blonde. Besides, she wasn't really interested in what her classmates did, regardless of if they were new or not. She wasn't in school to make friends or be social.

When she finished changing, Rei joined the flow of students to the gym. Physical Education would be shared between the two classes twice a week, consisting of some warm-up calisthenics followed by whatever sport or activity the teacher felt like playing that day. It was pretty standard stuff; soccer, handball, volleyball, dodgeball and the like, and Rei could tolerate most of them. Although she could be pretty good if she tried, she didn't really see the point. Sure, the exercise was fine, but getting invested in meaningless games with classmates she didn't talk to seemed unnecessary, and certainly wasn't enough to motivate her to take the class seriously.

So it was with a sigh that she listened to the teacher tell them they were going outside for soccer. Although it was temperate for fall, the air had been nippy that morning on the way to school. The teacher probably wanted to get the students outside a few times before the weather worsened, but Rei really would have preferred staying in, away from the cold. She'd always been more of a hot weather person.

Still, she waited patiently while each class was separated into three teams, each of which would rotate for a few minutes of play at a time. Her team was on the field first, so Rei moved towards the goal, away from where most of the action would take place. She let someone else take the goalie position, and settled into a spot off to the right of the goal itself. Apparently the other team would be getting the ball first, and Rei was only mildly surprised to see Aino Minako receive the ball from her teammate and start running down the field.

The game was a disorienting mess, as a bunch of high school students with no actual soccer experience ran around, kicking the ball without any strategy or foresight. The transfer student was right in the middle of it all, always near the ball. She clearly had a lot of enthusiasm as she threw herself around, smiling and laughing, joking with her teammates and even the kids from Rei's own team. She almost made it look like fun.

With all the chaos and movement something had to give, and it seemed Aino's energy paid off as suddenly she had the ball at a full sprint. Even though she didn't really care about the game or the class, Rei moved to intercept the other girl. It'd be pretty shameful to allow a goal without even trying to defend it, so she positioned herself in front of the transfer student's charge. Aino spotted her and moved left. Rei followed, but at the last moment the other girl juked to the right and slipped past her, shooting and scoring easily.

The blonde girl whooped and leapt around and her team celebrated around her. The teacher called for the teams to switch out, and as Rei headed towards the sidelines she passed by the other team. Aino looked at her and shot her a grin and a thumbs up, which was fine, probably a show of sportsmanship, to let her know it was just a game. But then the blonde... was that a wink? Did the transfer student just wink at her? How was she supposed to take that? Just another friendly sign? Or was she taunting Rei?

Rei had a while to stew over the gesture, as the other two teams from her class had their turns on the field. The other class moved ahead two more goals, so by the time her team was up again most of her teammates had checked out of the game. Rei wasn't surprised when the other side cut through them quickly. At the head of the attack was none other than the transfer student, and she was making a bee line for Rei with a smirk on her face. Rei felt her anger flash hotly, and moved up again.

This time when Aino juked, Rei stuck with her. However the transfer student must have planned for that, because she juked again, and again Rei found herself out of position. The blonde shot, and her team moved ahead another goal. Rei groaned in frustration. She didn't even know why she cared; even her teammates had put in less effort than she had on that push.

The goal had been scored early in their turn, so the teacher reset the teams and started play again. Even though her team started with the ball, Rei watched as it was quickly turned over, and the other team advanced again. The transfer student waved for the ball, and for the third time Rei found herself the target of the other girl.

Her anger rose again, and she was determined not to lose this time. Aino juked again, but Rei stayed with her. She backpedaled, trying to stay between the transfer student and the goal, but that gave the other girl the advantage, and soon she passed Rei again. Rei growled and turned to follow, and pushed herself faster. She pulled even with Aino just as the other girl was preparing for a shot. Rei slid desperately and hit the ball, but her momentum plus the other girl's made for predictable results. The transfer student fell over Rei's legs and tumbled forwards, ending up flat on her back.

A whistle blew and the teacher indicated a free kick. Rei blinked and she felt her anger fade. Sliding in like that had been pretty dangerous, especially considering it was in a meaningless PE soccer game. Rei pushed herself up and walked towards the transfer student, to make sure she was all right. She stepped in front of the other girl and found her staring up with a happy grin on her face. It occurred to Rei then that it was possible the other girl hadn't meant anything at all earlier, and was just an excitable girl.

"Sorry about that," she said as she extended a hand to pull the other girl up. Aino chuckled as she was pulled to her feet.

"It's fine," she said as she slapped her hands on her clothes to get some of the dirt off. "I didn't give you much of a choice, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"Well I kept coming right at you," the blonde said, the silly grin never leaving her face. "I wanted to see how you'd react."

Rei was stunned. The transfer student really had been pushing her buttons.

"My name's Aino Minako," the blonde said, holding her hand out. "Nice to meet you."

Rei was still too surprised to process what the other girl had said, but habit and her upbringing had her shaking the offered hand and giving her own name.

"Rei, huh? I like it," Minako said.

Their teams had arrived for the set piece and Rei shook herself. She opened her mouth to yell, but before she could go off on the blonde, the other girl was talking again.

"I think I'm gonna like this class, too," she said, and nudged Rei towards her team. "Not just anyone can get me on my back," she said, and she sent another wink at Rei.

Rei felt her face heat up, but she wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. She was sure about one thing though; it was going to be a long year.


	2. Soccer 2

In the two days before their next class together, Rei kept her ears open for news and rumors about the transfer student. She wasn't usually one for being so furtive, but after what happened in PE, she felt like she was at a disadvantage. She had no idea what the transfer student had planned for her, and she wasn't about to face it unprepared.

Of course, there wasn't much to be learned in such a short time. After the initial flurry of outlandish rumors, things settled down, and Rei could pretty much tell the fact from fiction. It seemed the other girl had taken an interest in the volleyball team, and had attended one of their meetings. Her mother was English, though her father was Japanese. They were well off, both working for a large, international business, where they had met. She was friendly, was always laughing or joking around, and didn't seem to take class seriously. She'd made fast friends with Serena, a girl in her class who was remarkably similar to Minako herself- blonde, boisterous, and a little ditzy. All in all, she sounded like a normal high school girl.

Which was no help to Rei. While it was good to know that the other girl was harmless, it wouldn't help her deal with attention from the blonde. She'd just have to avoid any situations involving the transfer student.

So Rei spent the next PE class trying to avoid Minako. They were playing soccer again, but this time Rei moved around as the classes were split into teams, and ended up on a team that didn't face the transfer student's. She got to relax when she was out on the field, with no one rushing at her, or winking at her, or saying something suggestive to her. Though the more she thought about the blonde's antics, the more aggravated she became. The idea that someone could get away with riling her up like that didn't sit well with Rei. Still, it was much more peaceful than the previous class had been.

What she hadn't counted on was the time spent off the field, watching the other teams play. The team from her class was losing badly, and neither team were really enough to hold her attention. So her mind and her eyes wandered. Oftentimes they meandered over to where students from the other class were sitting, and, almost inevitably, to the transfer student. The other girl was usually laughing with Serena, her eyes shining and her hair reflecting the sun. The other girl shone like a beacon, naturally drawing Rei's attention.

Despite all her scrutiny of the other girl, it still surprised Rei when she was met, again, with blue eyes and a coy smile. She had been caught looking, and it seemed like Minako thoroughly enjoyed the attention, as she sent Rei a small wave and another wink. Rei felt her face flush at being caught again, which worsened when the blonde turned to her friend and whispered something the two tittered about. And even though they probably weren't laughing about her, Rei still saw red at the giggling girls, and decided to take action.

When Minako's team was up to take the field, Rei stood and grabbed Melvin, a small, nerdy boy with thick glasses and brown hair that stuck out in every direction. She told him she'd be taking his spot, a proposition to which he readily agreed, half intimidated, and half relieved he wouldn't have to take the field again. Rei then informed the other members of his team that she'd be marking the transfer student, since no one else seemed up to it. She ignored the whispers that sprang up behind her, and marched out onto the field with Melvin's former team, stopping outside of the center circle, just across the half-line from Minako. Rei did her best to not look at the other girl, but even out of the corner of her eye she could make out the smile that was directed at her.

"Rei, you came out to play," Minako said. "And here I thought you were avoiding me."

"Don't call me that," Rei grumbled. "We're not friends."

"Sure sure, Hino it is," Minako said dismissively. "I was wondering if I teased you too much last time."

Rei kept her eyes focused on the center of the pitch, where the teacher was getting ready to start play. "Of course not, the teacher chose the teams randomly. And I just got tired of seeing my class humiliated."

Before Minako could say anything else the teacher had whistled for the game to start. Rei's new team had the ball first, and they quickly pushed ahead. Rei wasn't used to being so far up, on the other team's side of the field, but she tried to make the best of it. Since she had said she'd mark the transfer student, she did her best to stay between the blonde and the ball, but even without Minako, the other team stopped the attack and started one of their own.

Minako sped up and cut back and forth, trying to shake Rei, but Rei just managed to stick with her. No one was willing to pass to Minako so long as Rei was so close, and the push faltered before anything could come of it. The teams kept pushing back and forth, with neither side holding an advantage for long. But Rei was getting tired, her body not used to expending so much energy in a class she usually didn't care about, and slowly but surely Minako pulled away from her. It didn't take long for her team to notice.

On the next attack, Minako's team finally got her the ball, and she took off downfield. Rei swore silently and drove herself harder after that flashing blonde hair. Minako dribbled past the half-line, then towards the goal, slowing down as she concentrated on keeping control of the ball. It was enough to allow Rei to catch up, and she moved to the blonde's side, pressuring her and trying to get the ball from her. Minako was forced to pass the ball away before Rei could get to it. The pass ended up at the feet of one of her teammates, who got off a shot that went wide of the goal.

The whistle blew, signaling the end of their turn, and the teacher checked his watch before waving everyone back to the gym. Class was over. Rei bent forward and puffed heavily. Beside her, Minako was also breathing harder, though she was upright.

“Hey that was pretty fun," Minako said. "You were really all over me."

Rei groaned and sucked in some more air to respond. After a moment she caught her breath and stood up to face the blonde.

"Do you always have to say something perverted?" she said.

"Hm? I was just saying you covered me really well. Hino, where is your mind taking you?" Minako said with a knowing smile.

Rei rolled her eyes. "I don't believe that for a second."

"Ah ha, you caught me. Sorry, I just can't help myself around such a pretty girl."

"Listen Aino, I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm not having any of it."

"Oh, it seems like you will to me," Minako said, the smile never leaving her face. "After all, even though I annoyed you so much last time you still came out to play with me."

Rei frowned. The other girl had a point, and that troubled her more than anything. If the blonde was so annoying, why had Rei gone out of her way to interact with her? She wasn't sure, but Rei wasn't going to let her have the last word this time.

"Losing bothers me, that's all. After last class I couldn't have you thinking you could get away with messing with me like that." Rei started to walk back to the gym.   
"Besides," Rei said, throwing Minako a taunting look over her shoulder, "you didn't score with me today."

Rei enjoyed Minako's surprised face for a moment. She felt good about managing to surprise the other girl, and she looked ahead again with an extra bounce in her step. However, she looked away too soon, and missed the impish look that took over Minako's face.


	3. Soccer 3

As far as Rei was concerned, Minako was a trouble of the past. After their last class together, the other girl would have to know she wasn't an easy target, whether for teasing, or for misguided attempts at friendship. The blonde would probably satisfy herself with Serena and the other kids in her own class, especially since the two of them would only see each other twice a week. There was just no way that Minako could continue to hound Rei, and she would be free to return to her usual routine.

And so Rei spent her three days of Minako-free time how she had always spent her time, though it had never been quite as relaxing. In school, she was a model student, listening patiently to all the lessons and answering correctly when called upon. She was polite, but distant towards the other kids in her class. She didn't participate in any clubs, as she had to return to the Hikawa Shrine, a Shinto shrine where she lived and worked with her grandfather.

It was fairly small, set at the top of a long stairway built into a steep hill. It was small enough that the two of them could run it themselves, her grandfather being a priest, a role he had inherited from his father, and she assisting him as a miko. On special occasions and holidays they performed rituals or ceremonies, but Rei handled some of the day-to-day cleaning of the shrine and its grounds, as well as most of the administrative work that needed to be done that her grandfather was, frankly, too old-fashioned to do.

Not that he was a bad priest, but in his old age her grandfather had different... priorities than her. While she carried out most of the mundane tasks around the shrine, he spent a lot of his time crafting and selling souvenirs to the people who stopped in, which in itself wasn't a bad thing. The shrine had to be financed somehow, and souvenirs and charms were a fine way to do so. However, Rei knew her grandfather spent much more of his time flirting with any and every woman he saw. They were lucky most of those women only saw him as a harmless little old man, and not as the lecher Rei knew him to be.

Still, it was a nice place to live, and Rei enjoyed the life of a miko. The physical work was simple, but gratifying, and had instilled discipline and a strong work ethic in Rei. Helping others with their spiritual needs eased her own troubles, and as each day wound down, she performed cleansing and purifying rituals that calmed her, and left her with a sense of peace. Oftentimes she'd end her days in front of the sacred fire, a symbolic flame lit in a room of the shrine, said to aid meditation and the search for one's enlightenment. Rei hadn't yet found enlightenment, but the heat from the fire, and the tranquility of the room certainly left her feeling a little bit closer to inner peace.

Inner peace that would be sorely tested as the day of her next PE class drew closer and closer.

The day began as any other, with Rei preparing for school and arriving early to settle in. After a week of the new school year, she had a routine down pat. In the mornings, before classes started, she checked over her work to make sure everything was completed. Then classes started, fairly standard ones; math, english, Japanese, or science. Then lunch, which she usually brought from home, and preferred to eat in the classroom. Afternoons were for the more fringe classes, home ec., social studies, and, of course, PE.

When it finally was time to go to the locker rooms for gym, Rei was feeling pretty good. Classes had gone well, and the end of the day was in sight. She breezed through the warm-ups, and when the teacher announced that they'd be doing something a little different with the teams that day, she didn't pay it any mind. The teacher told them they'd be having a small tournament over the next two class periods, and split the two classes up randomly into teams, so that each team would have students from both classes. Rei didn't really think anything of it. After all, gym teachers loved their tournaments, so one more wasn't anything to worry about.

That is, until she was placed on a team with Minako. Rei almost groaned when she saw the energetic blonde bounce over. She briefly hoped that Minako wouldn't make a big deal about their new team situation, but the look in the other girl's eye put Rei on edge. Although she was smiling and laughing with Serena, another new teammate, whenever she glanced at Rei, there was an unmistakable challenge, a provocation there. Rei reflected that maybe her remark at the end of the last class hadn't been her best idea. Still, she couldn't do anything about it now, so she took a deep breath and marched with the rest of the students to the field.

The teacher ordered two teams to the field. Rei's team was set to play in the third and the last of six games of the period, so Rei took the opportunity to try and settle herself down. Minako and Serena were nearby, holding an animated conversation about an idol, or something to that effect. She recognized a couple of the other kids on her team as being from her class, though no one too interesting. Except for Ami Mizuno, a short, bookish girl with short-cropped dark hair. She was consistently the highest ranked student in the school, and probably the entire country. And if the rumors were to be believed, she had an I.Q. Of 300 and spent every waking moment studying. Rei didn't buy into those rumors, but she did appreciate the other girl's intelligence and work ethic. She was someone who never caused any problems, someone who did their part quietly. Someone Rei could actually stand, unlike a certain pair of blondes, who had gone from talking about idols to joking loudly about some show they both watched. Rei grit her teeth with each peal of laughter.

Eventually their team was up, and Rei welcomed the chance to distance herself from Minako and Serena. They took the field, and when whistle blew, Rei backpedaled away from the action to take a defensive position. Ami had a similar idea, and together they watched the action unfold. Their team consisted mostly of Minako, Serena, and a couple of boys running after the ball, with a few other students waiting near the sidelines or further upfield, shouting instructions and waiting for that breakaway pass to come so they could score. However, the opposing team wasn't cooperating, and for the entirety of their first game the ball stayed around midfield, changing possession a few times, but never really going anywhere. The whistle to end their turn came and both teams trotted over to the sidelines to watch the next game.

Rei sat on the grass, apart from most of the rest of the students. She wasn't surprised when Minako plopped down next to her, Serena following behind and sitting on Minako's other side.

"Rei, I was surprised you weren't attacking with us," Minako said. Rei glanced at her and found both blondes looking at her expectantly, Serena's head bent forward to see around Minako.

"What did I say about using my name?" Rei asked threateningly.

Minako waved her hand airily. "Right, right, Hino, I was surprised you weren't up there with us," she prompted.

"Why would I be," Rei grumbled, still not used to someone brushing her brusqueness aside so easily.

"I thought you didn't like to lose." Minako said.

"I didn't put it like that," Rei said.

Minako flicked her hair over her shoulder. "That's right, you just said you don't like to be humiliated. But losing is okay?" she challenged.

"I'm not just going to let the other team score," Rei said, her irritation coming through in her voice. "That's enough for me."

"So you're okay with tying then?" Minako pressed.

Rei crossed her arms as she looked across the field. "It's a high-school gym-class game of soccer," she said haughtily. "It's not exactly important to me."

"Huh. I just thought you'd be more of a... well a winning type," Minako said.

That caught Rei's attention, and she turned fully towards Minako. Her voice rose with incredulous anger. "Are you calling me a loser?"

Serena 'eep'ed' and hid behind Minako's shoulder, and Minako held her hands up to stave off Rei's anger. "Aha, that came out wrong," she said quickly. "It just doesn't seem like you'd be satisfied with a tie. Like, winning would be more important than just not losing."

"Well it's not," Rei said hotly, turning back to face the field. "I'll leave the pointless effort to you."

Minako lowered her hands, safe for the moment. "That's too bad, I really want to win. Even if they're meaningless games, I wouldn't feel right not doing my best."

Rei didn't have anything to say to that. She considered Minako's words even as the other girl continued.

"And besides, I'm sure you'd be better attacking than Serena."

Serena squawked indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were pretty rough out there," Minako said with a giggle. "When you hooked your own foot when you tried to kick the ball, I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard."

Serena frowned. "That could happen to anyone."

"Oh yeah? How about when you did hit the ball and passed it right to the other team?"

"It's a very fast paced game," Serena said defensively.

Minako laughed and bumped the other blonde with her shoulder. "And when you tripped into Makoto and took the both of you out?"

"Okay, so coordination isn't my strong point!" Serena burst out.

"See?" Minako asked turning to Rei. "She admits it. Why don't the two of you switch positions next game?"

Rei was stone-faced. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she knew Minako's words were getting to her. She was a competitive person, though she tried to curb herself during school, and Minako was pushing all the right buttons to bring that competitiveness out of her. From the look on the other girl's face, Minako knew exactly what she was doing and exactly how well it was working.

When their turn to play came around again, Rei found herself at the half-line next to a smirking Minako. Minako told Serena to hang by the goal and defend, to which the other blonde responded by sticking her tongue out and huffing as she moved next to Ami. She pointedly ignored Minako and Rei, and instead started talking to the poor girl, who seemed confused by the new development. Minako giggled a little at the other girl's antics as the teacher moved away from the ball and started the game

The other team had possession first, but as soon as the whistle blew Minako threw herself at the player with the ball. Rei moved too, deciding to cover someone and wait for possession to switch. With Minako and one of the boys on their team harassing every pass the opposition made, it didn't take long for the other team to make a mistake. One errant pass and her team was off, pressing up the field.

Their attack was disorganized, a mess of sloppy footwork and a lot of yelling. There were a few times that Rei noticed someone open, or about to make a move, but no one else on the team seemed to be able to figure out what was going on. Frustrated, she fell back to see if an opening would present itself. Her attention fell to Minako, who had just received a pass. Minako paused a moment, her eyes darting around, as she planned her next move. She started forward again, but her eyes flashed to Rei before sprinting wide. Rei didn't hesitate, and moved between two defenders towards the goal. The last defender had followed Minako, who passed the ball around him right to Rei's feet. She put it in the back of the net easily.

A couple of her teammates jumped around and cheered, but Rei didn't join in their celebration. After all, it was only a game- a game that she had been manipulated into taking seriously, she reminded herself. She stalked over to the sidelines as the teacher called for the end of class, and joined the rest of the students as they filed towards the locker rooms, not stopping when she heard someone- probably a certain blonde- run up behind her.

"That was a pretty good shot," Rei heard Minako say. Sometimes she hated being right.

"If you say so," she said. Minako fell into step beside her.

"Doesn't that feel much better than a tie?" Minako asked.

"Not especially," Rei said.

"That's a shame," Minako said. "Still, I'm glad we won. Good game."

Rei was confused for a moment. For once, Minako hadn't said anything suggestive, or even a little flirty. And then, with a loud smacking noise, Minako's hand had connected with her butt, and with a giggle the other girl ran ahead. Rei's stood for a moment speechless before her brain processed what had just happened. Minako had smacked her butt!

"Aino," Rei barked out as she started after the blonde head she could see bobbing away from her. She was met with full, exuberant laughter as the other girl weaved through the other students, who glanced from the fleeing girl to Rei. Rei's face burned under the attention, and she stopped her pursuit. She squared her shoulders and schooled her features into a glare- or at least as severe a frown as she could manage with a red face- and stiffly rejoined the procession to the locker rooms.


	4. Lunch 1

Rei sat in her classroom, stewing over her lunch. She sat alone, something she was used to considering her cold demeanor. Normally it was a refreshing break from school, a time to be alone with her thoughts, or study, or just zone out for a while. However, her thoughts were taken up not by schoolwork, but by a smack, and the sting of embarrassment she still felt. And it hadn't gone unnoticed. All day, students had been sneaking glances at her, exchanging whispers behind hands. They were undoubtedly talking about how the usually calm and collected Rei Hino was getting a little hot under the collar. That just made her increasingly angry, and the last person who she caught looking at her had received a glare so fierce they still hadn't picked their head up from their desk.

Still, nothing seemed to lessen her agitation. Being toyed with wasn't something she had felt before, and it wouldn't leave her alone. Half-formed thoughts of revenge filled her head, with flashes of a certain blonde in different hazardous situations. There was Minako tripping and falling on her face. There was Minako tumbling down the stairs. Minako tied to a tree with an apple on her head as Rei drew back her bow... Rei took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out slowly. What Minako had done probably didn't call for such harsh reprisal. Probably.

Rei turned back to her lunch, about to start in on it when the classroom door opened. While it wasn't unusual for students to come and go during lunch, Rei still felt her stomach sink, and an overwhelming sense of foreboding came over her. And true to her recent bad luck, she heard Minako's voice from the doorway.

"Ah, there she is," Minako said. When she looked up, Minako and Serena were standing in the doorway, and Minako was pointing to Makoto. Rei let out a relieved breath as the two blondes made their way over to Makoto. Maybe she could get away with not interacting with the blonde for another day.

While the two girls made their way over to Makoto, Rei took the opportunity to observe Minako. Since the only class they shared was PE, she never really saw the other girl in her regular uniform. Ever since that first class, she did her best to avoid looking at Minako in the changing room. The last thing she needed was to give the blonde more opportunity to tease her. Still, she was curious about what Minako was like outside of that class.

She looked... beautiful, really, was the first word that Rei thought of. She stood tall, shoulders square and chin held high. Her gait was even, and she looked around the room with those clear blue eyes. Her smile flashed at everyone, open and friendly. A large red ribbon sat at the top of her head, holding her hair away from her face. The golden mane was straight and luxurious, and Rei couldn't help wondering if it was as soft as it looked.

Rei was shaken from her thoughts by Serena's voice. "Oh look, Ami's here! I'm going to ask her if she wants to sit with us."

Rei listened as Serena did just that, offering Ami a place with the other girls. Ami was hesitant, clearly not used to someone inviting her to join them, but agreed, and Rei listened as the group settled in and started eating. She just about let out another sigh of relief. It seemed she would be safe after all.

As the lunch period went on, Minako and the others held a lively conversation. Their seats were far enough away that Rei couldn't hear what was being said, but she could hear the laughter, and could see the movement as they got more excited. She was surprised to see even Ami getting into it; the girl who was normally quiet and reserved was laughing almost as hard as the others. It was nice to see, considering most of their classmates left Ami to her own devices. For a long time she had been left alone, both because she was naturally shy, and because her intelligence was intimidating. Rei knew many of the other students used to bully her, though it had slowed down as they grew older.

Now there she was, sharing lunch with three girls Rei never would have expected. It seemed so natural, too. The blondes were fast-talking and spirited, Makoto was loud and boisterous, and Ami, though quieter than the others, got her turns to speak. And when she did, the others listened, laughed, and seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. It was good to see that someone was extending a welcoming hand to Ami, and the fact that one of those people was Minako... well, Rei supposed, even that scoundrel could have some good points.

Rei spared a last glance at the group of girls across the room before returning to her lunch. She finished, and was just about to pull out a book for the remainder of the period when a chair was pulled up to her desk. She didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"Hey there," Minako said as she sat down.

"Aino," Rei said coolly, without looking up.

"What's with that reception?" Minako asked. "Here I thought we were teammates."

"You know what you did," Rei said.

Minako tapped a finger to her chin and made like she was thinking hard. "Hmm, nope, I can't think of anything," she said.

Rei scoffed. "Yesterday, when you- at the end of class you-" Rei couldn't quite figure out how to put what she wanted to say. "You- you know what I'm talking about."

"Well I remember we won our second game, and I congratulated you on doing so well. Nothing that really stands out."

"Not even the sexual harassment?" Rei asked sardonically.

"Hm? Oh that," Minako said with exaggerated comprehension. "That was nothing, just a congratulatory pat on the butt. We do it at volleyball all the time," Minako said.

"We weren't playing volleyball."

Minako rolled her eyes. "Everyone who plays a sport knows the butt-pat. There's nothing sexual about it, let alone harassing."

"I don't play any sports."

"If I recall correctly, you scored the winning goal yesterday," Minako said, a smug tone in her voice.

Rei resisted rolling her own eyes at the other girl. It was clear to her that Minako knew what she meant, but was willing to tease her in a circle for her own amusement.

"I can't imagine you came over here to talk about your indiscretions," she said.

"Indiscretions? When you put it like that it sounds so dirty, much worse than it really was."

Rei gave Minako a look, and the blonde raised her hands in surrender.

"You're right," Minako said. "I didn't come over here to get yelled at over nothing."

Rei didn't fight her urge this time, and rolled her eyes at Minako's words. The other girl continued resolutely.

"I was wondering if you wanted to sit with us."

Rei let a beat go by as she considered the words.

"You, want me, to sit with you?"

"Yep," Minako said brightly.

"You, the girl who molested me yesterday?"

"If I molested you, you'd know it," Minako said with a waggle of her eyebrows. Her face dropped a moment later. "That actually sounds pretty bad, forget I said that."

"You can't help herself, can you?" Rei asked rhetorically.

"Not around pretty girls." Minako went with a wink this time.

Rei groaned and let her head drop. "No. I'm not interested in sitting with you."

"Why not?"

Rei chose not to answer.

"If it's the butt thing, I'll apologize. I'm sorry for patting your butt yesterday, even though it was in an entirely platonic way."

"Can you not call it the butt thing," Rei managed to say through gritted teeth. Just hearing that phrase from the other girl was enough to bring a blush to her face.

"The pat incident?"

"Whatever you call it, yes, that's one of the reasons I don't want to sit with you."

"What else is there?"

"The fact that you aggravate me more than anyone I've ever met."

Minako nodded slowly. "That would do it, yeah. Still, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask."

"Not you anyway," Rei muttered.

"Me and Serena might be coming over here more often for lunch, so if you ever change your mind, you're welcome to join us."

"Right," Rei said.

Minako was silent for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to? I could tone it down a little."

"I doubt it," Rei said. "And yes, I am very sure I don't want to."

"Geeze Rei, you're so firm," Minako said as she stood.

Rei jerked her head up and narrowed her eyes at Minako. Had that been intentional?

"I guess that's the end of that conversation," Minako continued.

Rei was speechless. That little... minx, Rei knew Minako hadn't been serious about her innocence. Rei doubted there was a platonic bone in the other girl's body.

"Remember, if you change your mind..." Minako said, and with a quick wave she was off. Rei briefly saw the rest of the class shooting looks her way as well before red took over her vision. Her earlier fantasies of revenge came back in full force. She saw Minako tied to the tree again, except this time her arrow was on fire. She let go, and a savage satisfaction filled her as everything caught fire. If Minako wanted to tease her, she would have to be prepared for the reprisal.


	5. Free Play 1

The following two weeks were a whirl of barbs and innuendos, of sly words and sharp retorts. Minako happily bombarded Rei with all the suggestive wit she could muster, and Rei responded with dry remarks and sarcasm. But for every time she brushed one of Minako's remarks aside, the other girl had another ready to go. She was a never-ending font of flirtation, and Rei was getting worn down. A few times, after some of their exchanges, Rei asked herself why she even bothered. A strict non-engagement policy would be better for her mental health, and would save a lot of her day-to-day aggravation.

But each time the answer was the same. Giving up would be admitting she lost. Worse, it would be admitting it to the most obnoxious person she knew. And her pride wouldn't let her do that. Rei knew it was stupid, she knew it was completely unnecessary, but dammit, she was not going to lose to that blonde-haired menace.

So she persevered for four gym periods and a handful of lunches. The haphazard soccer tournament ended, and with Minako's unending enthusiasm their team had done well. Rei kept playing forward- to go back to playing defense would almost be the same as giving up on their war of words- and found it to be... not as bad as it should have been. She and Minako worked well together. When she had the ball her eyes always found Minako, with a pass not long behind. When the blonde had it, Rei kept looking for openings, and the ball always seemed to reach her just as she made her move. It was actually quite annoying to Rei, who would have preferred an excuse to stay away from Minako.

The lunches were worse for her. At least during their PE time together, Rei could concentrate on the game. When Minako and Serena came to her classroom for lunch there was nothing else for Rei to focus on. Well, that wasn't quite true. She could study, or read, or focus on someone else, or stare out the window or... not, because whenever she tried to do something else, her attention wandered back to the table she was trying so hard to avoid.

It was frustrating to lose control of herself like that. She was much more used to strict, set behaviors. The break period used to be one of actual productive work, but now... taking her lunch to another place to get some peace was looking more and more appealing. Of course, she had nowhere to go. There was no eating in the library, she didn't want to be one of those people who went to the roof, there wasn't much in the way of outside seating, and she didn't talk to anyone in other classes. And there was the other problem, that her pride wouldn't let her budge an inch in a situation that involved Minako.

So it was a relief to hear the bell to end lunch and prepare for the next class. Even though she was about to share PE with that blonde idiot, there was a good chance that she wouldn't have to talk to her at all. With the tournament over they would move on to another game, and the chances of ending up on Minako's team again had to be pretty small. It was a happy little notion that carried her through changing in the locker room, and all the way to the gym.

A notion that was shattered by the teacher. He announced that after their usual warm-ups, they'd have a free day. Most of the students murmured happily. Free days were a student's- and probably the teacher's, too- best friend. They were provided with some equipment, usually some jump ropes, basketballs, volleyballs, and whatever else the teacher could dig up, and told to have fun. The only rule on free days was simple- no sitting. It was up to them to entertain themselves, and was a rare treat for most kids.

Rei, however, could only imagine what Minako would cook up in that warped head of hers. She doubtlessly had a dozen plans kicking around with which to bother Rei, and Rei wasn't sure that she'd be able to survive any big, lewd onslaught that the blonde would throw at her. And if she survived, she wasn't sure that Minako would. She let out a grim snort at the thought- murder wasn't supposed to be funny, but then, she was in a strange place where Minako was concerned.

Rei set a dour look on her face and proceeded on a lap around the inside of the gym. She watched the other students settle in to different areas. A bunch of the boys had taken half of a basketball court as their own and started a pick-up game there. Some of the girls had grabbed the jump ropes, and a few other students had taken a page out of her book and were also circling the gym. Then there was Minako, along with Serena, Ami, and Makoto, appropriating one of the corners to a game of keep-up with a volleyball. Rei was intrigued- there had been no suggestive remarks today, and no pawing at her. Maybe Minako's love of volleyball was greater than her love of annoying Rei?

She entertained the thought for a while, but when she was nearing the group, she still braced herself for anything. So she was only a little surprised when the volleyball careened towards her head. She caught the ball easily enough, but almost wasn't fast enough to avoid the person flailing towards her. At first all she saw was blonde hair, and assumed it was Minako, but after a moment she noticed the hair whipping around was in two distinct pigtails. Serena stopped just short of running into her.

"Sorry Rei, I was trying to get the ball and it ended up hitting the side of my hand which, of course, sent it flying right at your face." Serena said. She was breathing heavily, and seemed to appreciate being able to stop for a moment.

"That's alright, Tsukino, I know it was an accident."

"Because you're such a klutz," Minako said, running up beside Serena.

"Hey that's not true," Serena said, offended. "I'm perfectly coordinated."

"Serena, we've been over this before," Minako said. She turned to Rei. "Can we have our ball back?"

Rei nodded and tossed it to the other girl. She took a breath to ready herself for whatever Minako was going to say next.

"So, Hino, care to join us?"

There it was, and it actually wasn't bad at all. A simple invitation to play a simple game. Rei was suspicious. She scrutinized Minako's features, and, while there was the usual playfulness there, she found something else as well. She didn't know if the other girl's eyes were more crinkled, or if her mouth was more open. Maybe there was something in her stance, or the set of her shoulders. Rei couldn't place her finger on what, exactly, was different, but Minako just looked... happy. Granted, she was always upbeat and energetic, but now she seemed to be having a ton of fun.

She still almost rejected her offer on principle. Her suspicion was still there, and it would be easier to just say no and move on. And her pride wouldn't be at stake considering she never participated in anything during free days anyway. Besides, she had been looking forward to a Minako-free day since the beginning of class.

But something about how genuine the offer sounded made her hesitate. That, and two sets of frustratingly-adorable puppy-dog eyes. So it was only with mild surprise that she heard her own voice agreeing to play with them. She was met with a couple of happy squeals, and the other girls grabbed her arms and dragged her over to the others.

It was fun. She was a little on edge the entire time, waiting for some dirty remark or flirtatious comment, but it was a nice change of pace from circumnavigating the gym by herself. Not that she minded being by herself, but every now and again, spending some time with her classmates didn't hurt. Even if a certain blonde were involved. Sure, there was the occasional wink, or eyelash flutter, but Minako was showing that she could control herself- at least, to some extent.

It seemed like she had only been playing for a few minutes when the teacher called for everyone to return to the locker rooms. Rei prepared herself again, wondering if Minako would strike on the way or if she would wait until they were changing to make some move, but still the other girl did... well, not nothing. Rei caught her stealing glances at her as she changed. But for Minako, that was reserved. Rei frowned. She must have missed something.

For the rest of the day Rei turned the PE class over in her head. Until the end of school, and as she walked to her bus stop, she thought about every minute of her time spent near Minako. Even as she got on and took her seat, her concentration never wavered. But she found nothing new, nothing in the locker room, and nothing during class.

There was that time that Serena had chased a ball further than she should have and smacked into her, but Minako hadn't said anything then. Then Minako had sold out going after a wild hit- Serena again- sprinting after the ball and diving to reach it before it hit the ground. The ball made it back to the group, only to fall to the ground after Ami couldn't get under it just right. The look on Minako's face as she came panting back to the group was downright comical.

There were a few instances of Serena's lack of coordination she could remember, and just as many of Minako's athleticism. She had been everywhere, running and diving again and again. Her sets were perfect, her digs were accurate, and she had really shown what she could do when it came to her favorite sport.

Rei herself hadn't been as bad as Serena and Ami. She could at least it the ball upwards consistently, and she didn't have a problem with putting one foot over the other like Serena seemed to. She had made a few plays that she was happy with, though she didn't run nearly as much as Minako. The only person who was even close to being as good as the blonde was Makoto, which made sense considering they were both on the volleyball team. They had even done a round with just the two of them, and made it much longer than when the rest of them joined in. That had lasted until Serena jumped in and sent the ball towards poor Ami, who hadn't been fast enough to duck out of the way. Maybe bothering others was a blonde thing?

A voice announced her stop and Rei looked out the window, confused. The ride had been much shorter than usual- at least, it seemed that way. She caught a look at herself in the window as well. There was a small smile on her face, and she realized she had been reminiscing about the class. She had never done that, not for PE, not for any class, for as long as she could remember.

Rei got off at her stop, still puzzled by herself. She didn't feel any different, but she wasn't acting as she usually did. She wasn't sure what to make of it. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing; she had only been smiling. But she also had a pretty good guess about the cause of it, and that was concerning to her.


	6. Dodgeball 1

Dodgeball. Love it or hate it, it's a staple of gym teachers everywhere. Personally, Rei didn't mind dodgeball. It was straightforward, and usually it was easy to get out if she didn't feel like putting forth any effort. Although with Minako playing, she was sure she'd be trying harder than she'd like. Rei sighed as the teacher led them through their warm-ups. At least it would be easy to avoid Minako.

After their warm-ups, the teacher separated the classes onto either side of the lines that made up the basketball court, with the half-court line forming one boundary and the out-of-bounds line forming the other. The teacher bisected the court with a line of small cones, and placed hand-sized foam balls between them. 

Each class took a side and stood behind one of the lines on the floor. When everyone was ready, the teacher blew his whistle to start the game.

Everyone rushed forward. The boys who got to the middle first immediately started throwing the balls. It was chaos, with shouting and movement and foam projectiles flying everywhere. Rei hung back, content to watch the game unfold.

After the initial rush of brave- or foolhardy- kids, the sides fell into a rhythm of volleys. One side would hold most of the balls and throw them all at once. The other would count their losses, gather the balls, and return fire. She spotted Minako on the other side, darting forward to get a better angle, and jumping back to avoid return fire. There was an opportunity there, if she wanted to take it. And considering that she never had the chance to tease the other girl first... she found herself snatching up the next ball that came her way.

She waited patiently for a good shot. Minako had to be distracted, and preferably in the middle of throwing when she made her move. She inched towards the other side to be ready at a moments notice, and it happened. Minako had a ball, and moved forward to throw. She was intent on her target and Rei readied her ball. Just as Minako pulled her own arm back, Rei stepped forward to throw- and was promptly hit by somebody else. She let out a deep sigh and dropped her ball before trudging to the sidelines to sit with the other students who were out. 

She watched the dwindling sides half-interestedly. Minako was still in the game, as was Makoto and, miraculously, Serena. Every time something was thrown at the twin-tailed blonde, she slipped, or tripped, or fell just in time to avoid it.

Minako was bouncing around, actively rushing in and out of the action. She had started to direct her side like a field marshall, ordering one flank forward to attack followed quickly by a volley from the other flank. 

On Rei's team, Makoto seemed to be the last player who could be able to turn things around. Most of the boys were out, targeted systematically by Minako. So Makoto's remaining teammates took turns protecting her, sometimes with their own bodies, to allow her to fire balls at the other team. She had an absolute cannon of an arm, her height and sheer strength allowing her to put enough speed on her attacks as to make them uncatchable. And while a lot of her shots were errant, they did a good job of scattering the other team.

Still, it wasn't enough. With their dwindling numbers, Rei's team couldn't protect their ace for long, and eventually the tall girl was knocked out. The rest of their team quickly followed. Minako and her teammates cheered and celebrated their victory.

The teacher called for the boys from each team to play a round against each other. Rei watched with baleful eyes as Minako made her way towards her. Rei's glare had no effect on the chipper blonde.

“Well that was fun, wasn't it?” Minako asked after she plopped heavily onto the ground. 

Rei responded with a noncommittal noise.

“Don't be such a sourpuss, I haven't bothered you in days,” Minako said.

“I know,” Rei said. “It was such a nice streak. Shame you had to go and break it.”

“Well you looked like you could use a break. I know you can only handle so much of me at once,” Minako said, tone playful, eyes gleaming with laughter.

Rei frowned. “I can handle anything you can dish out.” As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them. Minako's face turned devious.

“If that's the case, Rei, then I can stop holding back. It's nice to know you can handle me. Maybe I can give you some more after class.”

Rei ground her teeth.

“Or you could give me something. We could handle each other, if you prefer.”

Rei stared forward as Minako's words washed over her.

“There are a lot of innuendos I don't say, but now that I know you can take it, I'll be giving it to you hard.”

Rei snapped. “That's it. One more crack like that and you'll find out if you can talk through a broken jaw.”

“Ah, Hino, I thought you said-”

“Choose your next words carefully, Aino. They might be your last.” Minako pouted.

"That's no fair. You said you'd be able to handle my cracks.” 

Rei started towards Minako. The blonde giggled and scampered out of reach.

“Come on, that last one was a little funny,” Minako said.

“Aino, sometimes in life, we make poor decisions. When we do that, we have to live with the consequences of our actions. For instance, I chose my words poorly before, and I had to listen to your lame 'innuendos.' You chose to direct those at me. Now, you have to face the consequences.” As she spoke, Rei shifted to her knees and slid towards Minako. The other girl scrambled behind the other students to keep some space between them. Rei followed.

“Ah, but you said you could handle it. There shouldn't be any consequences for me,” Minako said.

“I'm handling you just fine. After all, this is how I handle pests.”

“With violence?”

“With a lot of violence,” Rei said. 

Minako 'eep'ed' and turned suddenly. She had led Rei to where Makoto sat with Ami and Serena, and took the opportunity to hide behind Makoto.

“Help me, Mako, your classmate's gonna kill me!”

Makoto turned her head to Rei, took in the look on her face, and shook her head.

“If it's Hino, I'm sure you did something to deserve it,” she said to Minako.

“Ami, Serena?” Minako implored.

“Don't drag us into this,” Ami said.

“What did you do now?” Serena asked.

“Well she said she could handle my cracks and-” Minako started. Rei growled, cutting her off. Makoto smirked at her, and Serena clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles from getting out. Ami was the only one who seemed to be somewhat in control of herself, and even she had to turn her head and pretend the wall was very interesting. 

“You should know better, Hino, if you give this one anything she'll turn it dirty,” Makoto said. “Especially one like that.”

“I'd be fine if she would just accept her punishment,” Rei said. 

“Discretion is the better part of valor,” Minako said from her hiding spot behind Makoto. 

Rei didn't respond. Instead, she turned to look at the ongoing round of dodgeball. It seemed to be winding down, with the boys from Minako's class winning against the boys from her own. As she watched, Minako's classmates were setting up for a finishing volley. She smirked, and turned back to Minako.

“You can hide now, but just wait until we get out there,” she said.

“Ahaha, now let's not do anything crazy,” Minako said.

“Don't worry, everything I do to you will be within the rules,” Rei said.

Minako waited a beat before responding. “Don't threaten me with a good time.”

Rei pursed her lips. She really should have seen that coming.

“Yuck it up, Aino, 'cause it's our turn to play.”

The teacher's whistle blew, signaling the end of the round between the boys. Minako looked at the floor, then back to Rei. She gulped.

The teacher indicated for the girls to take the makeshift-field. Rei flipped her hair and strode onto the floor. She took her place at the end of the court and stared across  
the way at Minako as she got in position. When they were both set, there was a moment where their eyes met, and she felt a thrill of tension shoot through her. She took a steadying breath, and the teacher blew the whistle to start the round.

Rei took off, sprinting hard to beat Minako to the center line. Unfortunately for her, the other girl was a little more athletic. Minako grabbed a ball, had her arm back to throw, and Rei slid. The ball just missed hitting her, and she picked up one of her own- too late, as Minako danced away, out of range.

Rei retreated as well, content to play it safe. The girls of either class were slower to start than the boys. Both sides were milling around, a few girls with foam balls, but no one was throwing. Rei made her way over to Makoto.

“I think we should get things started,” she said.

Makoto gave her a sidelong glance. “Minako must have really pissed you off, huh?”

“Honestly, it wasn't even that bad. But it would be nice to beat her at something for a change,” Rei said.

Makoto grunted approvingly. “I can get behind that,” she said. She hefted her projectile before winding up and firing it at the opposing team. Girls shrieked and scattered, and a ball came flying back at them. Rei knocked it aside with the ball in her hands. She looked at the culprit, and found Minako sticking her tongue out at them. 

“Yeah, this is going to be satisfying,” Rei said. She threw her ball at Minako, making sure to aim for the other girl's legs so she couldn't catch it. Minako dodged, and the match picked up in intensity. The other students started to attack more often, dropping the numbers on either side down. Where before Minako had the chance to corral her troops, Rei instead kept her busy ducking and dodging with well-timed strikes.

With no direction to help them, Minako's team didn't fare any better than Rei's. Both teams were steadily losing players, although Rei noticed that Ami and Serena were both still in the game. Ami seemed to be hanging back, sometimes darting forward to cover Makoto's blind side, and Serena's preternatural luck was still in effect, as everything that came her way just missed hitting her. Before long, the five of them were the only players left.

There was a lull as the girls surveyed each other. Rei noticed Minako and Serena both breathing hard, but she wasn't faring any better. Ami seemed to be barely able to stand; her knees were shaking, and she could barely hold a ball up in front of her. Makoto still stood tall, although she winced when she moved her arm a certain way. All the throwing she had done must have been taking a toll on her. Neither side could handle much more. 

“Come on,” she said to her teammates. “They're almost done, and we've got an extra person. A couple more throws and they'll be done.”

Makoto smirked. “You say that, but we haven't been able to hit them in either game.”

“They're more tired now,” Ami said, shakily. “But then, so are we.”

“Let me and Makoto handle the attacking,” Rei said. “Just keep on protecting us.”

Ami nodded. Rei looked across the gym at the blondes on the other side. They had been conspiring too, and they separated as she watched. Serena was holding one ball defensively in front of her, Minako was holding two, one in each hand, and was clearly looking for an opening. It would be dangerous, but they were running out of time- both because of how tired they all were, and because class would be ending in a few minutes. 

“Ready?” She asked Makoto.

“You know it,” the other girl said. 

“Go for Usagi,” Rei said.

Makoto gave a shout and went into her throwing motion. Rei stepped up as well and let a ball fly at Minako, to keep her from interfering with Makoto. But instead of even trying, Minako dodged her attack and dropped the balls she was carrying. She dove just as Makoto let go, and instead of a ditzy, easy target, suddenly the ball was traveling towards a ditzy, dangerous target. It struck Minako in the stomach, but she was prepared for the weight of the throw. Both arms came up to surround it, and she successfully held on to it. She had caught Makoto out.

Rei almost yelled in frustration, but a near-miracle occurred. A slow moving projectile struck Minako in the arms before falling limply to the ground. Both girls looked at Ami in wonder. The small girl had seen what was about to happen, and although she couldn't stop it, she had timed her throw well enough to get Minako out. Rei could almost kiss the other girl for giving them a fighting chance.

“Take this!” an excited yell came from Serena. The girl threw the ball she was holding. Rei watched incredulously as it headed directly for Ami, and was stunned as it curved instead towards her. Too stunned to get out of the way in time, and the ball struck her, knocking her out of the round.

All five girls watched the last ball roll away. In the span of a couple of seconds, the three best players remaining had been taken out of the game. The students on the sidelines cheered at the sudden development, shouting support for either of the remaining girls. Minako, Makoto, and Rei slowly trekked off the floor and sat, together, still trying to process how they had all been knocked out. 

Meanwhile Ami and Serena squared off against each other. There was a moment where the two locked eyes, and on some unknown signal they both moved. Serena reached a ball first, and triumphantly threw it- directly into the ground. Ami picked up a ball and lofted it at Serena. Minako started, and yelled for Serena to catch it. She nodded and put her hands up as the slow-moving ball arced towards her. Her team on the sidelines clamored excitedly, but their shouts turned to warnings as Ami picked up and threw another ball.

Her first ball had been thrown weakly, and high enough that it would take a long time to come down. Her second was thrown directly, and while she didn't have the best arm, it was much faster than her first throw. Fast enough that it beat it there, and struck Serena, knocking her out as well. Rei's team cheered wildly, hardly believing that someone had fallen for Ami's trick. Rei herself had a much easier time believing it, even with only limited exposure to the twin-tailed girl. Beside her Makoto and Minako both burst out laughing.

The teacher whistled the end of class, and the students began to file into the locker rooms. Makoto ran over to Ami to congratulate her, leaving Rei alone with Minako. 

“Well, I lost,” Minako said. “I think that should satisfy your bloodlust.”

“It doesn't,” Rei said immediately. “Considering I wasn't the one who hit you.”

Minako considered her words for a moment. “I guess that means you'll be trying to get back at me still.”

“Perhaps,” Rei said airily. “I certainly won't warn you if I am.”

“Guess I'll have to keep an eye on you,” Minako said.

“As if you don't already.”

Minako giggled. “A closer eye on you then.”

Rei rolled her eyes. 

“I won't make it easy on you,” Minako said.

“I wasn't expecting you to,” Rei said. 

“And I'm not gonna stop bothering you- it's too much fun.”

“I wasn't expecting you to do that either. Despite how you took it earlier, I can deal with you just fine. I don't care what you cook up in that perverted mind of yours.”

“Hmm hmm, we'll have to see about that. I guess class is about to get more interesting, huh?”

“That's not the word I would use,” Rei said.

Minako chuckled and latched onto her arm. She pulled her close, moving her mouth next to Rei's ear. 

“We're going to have a lot of fun together, Rei-ko,” she whispered, before slipping away into the locker room. Rei stiffened, and watched her go.


	7. Floor Hockey 1

It was two days before Rei had to see Minako again. The previous innuendo-laden class and the sudden use of a nickname had Rei feeling... off-kilter. She wasn't sure how she would act when next she saw the other girl. If she was too stand-offish, Minako would know that what she had said bothered her. If she was too casual, it would leave her open to more or worse from the blonde. With all her agonizing, PE came all-too fast.

The locker room wasn't too bad. Minako had never talked to her while they were changing, and generally left her alone while they were in there. However, as the girls filed into the gym Minako caught her eye, and gave her a few suggestive- if a little goofy- looks. 

The teacher led them through warm-ups before announcing the game of the day: floor hockey. Rei enjoyed floor hockey. She had a knack for long passes, which allowed her to play back, away from most of the action, and turn the entire game around when she got the ball. 

The twist came- as she half expected- when the teacher also announced that he would choose captains to pick teams. Worry settled in Rei's stomach, and the teacher chose three students from her class, and two from the other before announcing the last captain- Minako. Rei hung her head. She should have known something like that would happen. 

The captains made their choices in turn. Rei hoped that someone else would choose her first, however she doubted Minako would allow that. Sure enough, when it was Minako's turn to pick, she chose Rei. Everyone else seemed a little thrown off; all of the picks to that point had been boys, and there were plenty left. Rei wasn't surprised at being picked, nor was she surprised when Minako picked Serena next. Then Makoto, Ami, Molly- a friend of Serena's- and Melvin, to finish out their team.

“Aino, I don't think this team will be able to win,” Rei said.

“Hm? Of course we can, why wouldn't we be able to?” Minako asked.

“Well, I know we're good and all, but aren't most of the boys a little, you know, faster than us?” Makoto asked. 

“And bigger?” Ami added. Minako waved them off.

“It's fine. We're a better team.” She pulled Ami and Serena to her. “Nothing can beat the power of friendship!”

“Yeah!” Serena chimed in. 

“That's nonsense,” Rei said. “You know that, right?”

“It isn't!” Minako exclaimed. “Besides, I have a plan.”

The teacher called two other teams to the field, and Minako had everyone huddle around her.

“Now, I know it looks like I just picked friends, but I have important roles for all of you. Makoto, you'll be in goal. I know how good you are at blocking shots.” Makoto   
added.

“Wait, we don't have to listen to you,” Rei said. “No one put you in charge.”

“The teacher did, remember? I'm captain of the team,” Minako said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rei was tempted to argue, but figured it wouldn't be worth the effort.

“Next is Molly, Ami, and Melvin defending. Then me and Rei in the middle to control the ball, and Serena at the front to score.” 

Minako beamed at everyone, and Rei was secretly impressed with the plan. The weaker players could make up for poor play with numbers, she and Minako could hold the middle of the court down- she already knew how well they could work as a team, much to her own dismay- and even Serena couldn't mess up throwing a ball at a net. And if all else failed, they had a big, athletic person to protect the goal. 

“That's... a really good plan,” Ami said. 

“Of course it is,” Minako said. “You can just call me Captain Aino!” She threw her arms around Ami and Serena again and raised her fingers in a 'V'. 

“Don't get ahead of yourself, Captain,” Rei said. “We still have to see how it goes against an actual team.”

“No other team will have a plan,” Minako said triumphantly. “Trust your captain, we'll win.”

Rei rolled her eyes, but settled back to watch the other teams playing. The gym had been split longways by cones, and two nets were placed at either end, allowing four teams to play at once. When their turn came, they took the field in the positions Minako had laid out. They were a sharp contrast to the other team, where the students all milled around the center of the field with one hanging back by the goal. 

Minako and the other captain squared off, the teacher dropped the ball, and they were off. Minako won control of the ball and passed it back to Rei. She yelled for Serena to run forward and started down the side of the field opposite Rei.

While keeping an eye on Minako's run, Rei pushed forward herself. Two players from the opposing team closed in on her, but one of them got too eager. He rushed forward and Rei feinted then cut back, bypassing him, and gave the other player similar treatment. Minako broke from the defender marking her and Rei passed, hitting Minako in stride. The other team surrounded the blonde, who instead passed to Serena, who swung way too hard, sending the ball well over the net. One of the defenders got to the ball and the other team started a counterattack. Rei and the other two fell back.

“Hey, a little less on the shot next time Serena,” Minako yelled.

“Haha, oops,” Serena said easily. “I got a little carried away,” she said, stopping to mime a pinch to show how little.

Minako didn't say anything. Rei took a brief look at her, noting her lips drawn thin, her furrowed brow. Interesting. Rei was well aware of her own competitive streak, and had guessed Minako had one was well, but she had never seen it before. The other girl had always been the instigator, and, though Rei hated to admit it, had come out of their little games the winner every time. There was a certain satisfaction in seeing Minako lose her cool, even if it was over Serena's general physical ineptitude rather than something she had done. 

The other team's attack had passed them and stalled at their defensive line. Molly and Melvin kept chasing the ball from defender to defender while Ami marked anyone who got too open. Minako charged to their aid while yelling for Rei and Serena to stay near the middle of the field for a counterattack of their own.

The other team managed a shot, a little off balance and easily blocked. Makoto sent the ball flying to Rei, who turned up court and ran. Serena had been ahead of her, but she couldn't run as fast as Rei, and was quickly overtaken. Two people had stayed behind for the other team, one, the goalie, directly in front of the goal, the other off to Rei's right. Rei leaned left and shot, but the goalie was in position and stopped it. The rest of either team caught up, including Minako, who looked a little more than angry. 

“What was that, I thought I said Serena was forward?” They started backpedaling as the other team advanced.

“Then she should have been forward,” Rei said sharply.

“You should have waited. We have to stick to the plan,” Minako said equally sharp.

“I thought you would be happy I was taking initiative, knowing how much I don't like doing it,” Rei said haughtily. 

“I'd be happier if we were winning,” Minako said. 

One of the opposing players passed them with the ball. Minako cursed quietly and chased after them. Rei let out a huff of air. Minako was getting wound up by something so minor. It was a wonder she could get under Rei's skin so easily.

Minako intercepted a pass and ran the ball to the middle of the court. She yelled for Serena to run ahead, and passed to Rei to avoid pressure from the other team. Rei took the ball forward a little, wondering how angry she could make Minako by charging in again. She decided against it- for now- and careened the ball off the wall back to Minako. Minako took it passed immediately to an open Serena. The ball bounced off Serena's stick directly to the other team's goalie, who sent it to one of their player's.

Again and again the teams ran up and down the field. Thanks to Minako's strategy- and especially to Makoto in goal- the other team never had a clean shot. At the other end, their strategy led Minako and Rei deep into enemy territory, but- thanks to Serena- was thwarted every time. Sometimes she would miss a pass completely, sometimes she would accidentally hit it directly to the other team, often her shots were simply off mark, and most recently, Serena took such a big windup to shoot that one of the opponents took the ball from right in front of her. 

“Ah, where did you come from?” Serena yelled in surprise.

“From right in front of you,” Minako yelled back as she tried to cut off a pass. 

“Oh, that makes sense,” Serena said. 

“Next time hit it faster,” Minako said as she ran after the other team, who were already closing in on their goal. 

“Sorry,” Serena said in a small voice as she stopped in the center of the court, next to Rei. The two of them watched as their defense pressured the other team into a bad   
pass, allowing Minako to take it and start, once again, to the other end of the court. Before she reached Rei and Serena, a whistle blew, and the teacher called for new teams to come forward.

Minako groaned. The three girls made their way to the sidelines, Serena apologizing the entire way. Minako waved her off, saying it was fine. Rei studied her closely for a moment. The other girl's shoulders were held stiff, her hands squeezed into fists. Even though she told Serena it was fine, Rei knew how annoyed the other girl was that they hadn't won. 

The defenders caught up with them and joined them to watch the other teams, laughing and chatting about the game they played and the games they were watching. Rei didn't join in; instead she split her attention between the action on the court, and a certain nearby blonde. Minako was acting bubbly, laughing and poking fun with the others, but her smile seemed a little… crooked. She was still putting on a face to hide how annoyed she was. 

Rei pursed her lips in thought. She wasn't sure what to do with this new information, but anything that could annoy Minako that much could be useful to her.


	8. Shrine 1

A day removed from gym class found Rei changing from her school uniform into her miko robes. She heard her grandfather speaking with someone, someone whose voice was higher, feminine. Her grandfather sounded excited, a sure sign that it was probably a pretty woman. Rei sighed, and hurried to finish changing so she could save the poor soul from her grandfather's advances. When she finished, and as she grew closer to the voices, she hurried for another reason. She recognized the other voice- Minako had come to the shrine.

Rei threw the sliding doors to the courtyard open and stomped down the stairs. The ravens who made their homes in the trees around the shrine squawked at the sudden noise. Minako and her grandfather similarly startled, and turned to face her. 

“Rei, you never told me you had such a lovely friend,” her grandfather said, eyebrows waggling lecherously. 

“Can it,” Rei said. She turned to Minako. “What are you doing here?”

“Now now, is that any way to talk to a friend, or a guest to our shrine,” her grandfather said. He turned to Minako. “Why don't you two go inside, I'll make some tea and prepare some snacks.”

Minako flashed a brilliant smile at him. “That sounds wonderful.”

Rei sighed. She had a feeling she'd be doing a lot of that today. “Don't encourage him,” she said to Minako as her grandfather ushered them inside. He sat them in one of the ceremonial rooms and bustled off to prepare a pot of tea, but not before he took one last look at Minako. Rei glared at him until he left the room.

The two girls were silent for a few long moments, Minako grinning from ear to ear and Rei with a much more grim look. Eventually Rei spoke.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you?” she asked, managing to keep most of the sarcasm from her voice. It wouldn't do for a miko to berate a visitor, after all.

“Well, I heard about this beautiful, graceful shrine maiden, and I just had to see her for myself,” Minako said. Rei took a breath. “And I gotta say, she really lives up to the hype.”

Rei made a low noise from her throat, almost a growl, before covering it with a cough. Before she could respond, her grandfather returned with tea and sweets.

“I really should thank you for being friends with my Rei. I know she can be prickly at times, and putting up with her isn't always easy,” he said.

“Prickly? Putting up with me?” Rei started, her voice increasing in volume as she spoke. She was cut off by Minako.

“Yes, she does get pretty surly at times. But I know that deep down, she has a warm, gooey center trying to get out.”

Rei's grandfather cackled. He turned to Rei. “I like her,” he said. Rei could feel her outrage trying to bubble it's way out of her mouth. He turned back to Minako, still chuckling. “You must be looking pretty deep then.”

“Don't you have something priestly to do?” Rei said sharply. She was desperate to separate the two of them, seeing how well they were getting along.

“I am doing something priestly,” he said incredulously. “Helping wayward souls is the most important duty for a priest.”

“More like harassing every pretty girl you see, and no, that's not very priestly.”

“You wound me,” her grandfather said, hand over his heart.

“Besides, she's not some wayward soul, she's just a classmate.”

“Can't she be both?” he asked.

Rei decided to try a different tact. “You know, I seem to remember quite a lot of dirt on the walkways around the Shrine when I got home, but that can't be right. After all, it's a priests duty to make sure they're cleaned every day.”

Her grandfather winced and laughed nervously. “It seems I just remembered something urgent I had to tend to,” he said. He turned to Minako. “It was a pleasure meeting you, young lady. Please continue to look after my granddaughter.”

“I'll keep a close eye on her,” Minako said with a straight face. Rei stayed quiet as her grandfather got up and left the room.

The silence stretched on, Rei again with a grim look on her face, and Minako with a small smile watching her. Eventually Minako spoke,

“So, I'm pretty, huh?”

“I should have said that he hits on anything with two legs,” Rei said immediately.

“That hurts, Hino. What have I ever done to you?” Minako asked under fluttering eyelashes.

Rei chose to ignore that line of questioning. “Why are you here, really?”

“Well I just can't get enough of you in school, so I figured I'd find you outside it. I asked around, and it turns out everyone knows where to find you. You have quite the fan club, Hino.”

Rei had seen enough of her school's uniforms around to know that her schoolmates were aware of her position outside school. However, no one had ever talked to her about it. Leave it to Minako to be the first to try. Rei scowled.

“You found me. You saw me. You even got to harass me, so you can go now.”

“Hey, I haven't even had any of my tea yet,” Minako said. “Or any sweets,” she added, thoughtfully picking one up and unwrapping it. She held it out to Rei, who shook her head, before popping it in her mouth.

“Now have your tea and you can be on your way,” Rei said.

“Tea is meant to be savored, enjoyed quietly in good company,” Minako said.

“If only I could find any, I could enjoy my own,” Rei said. Minako laughed.

The blonde took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh. They sat across from each other while Minako slowly drank her tea. Rei eventually broke, and had some of her own. She wasn't sure what to make of this sudden visit, but at least Minako wasn't being annoying as she probably could have been. 

She was turning into a hard person to figure out. At first the blonde had been nothing but trouble, teasing and flustering Rei incessantly. While that hadn't changed, Minako had shown she could be… a decent person, when she put her mind to it. She seemed to get along with just about everybody, and she and Serena had gone out of their way to befriend Ami. And those rare times she wasn't bothering Rei, Minako could be funny, charming even. And even when she was bothering Rei, there was no denying her quick wit.

But last class Minako had been so wound up, it had been a stark contrast to the easygoing person she thought she knew. She had even snapped at Serena, the human equivalent of an especially clumsy puppy. And now there she was, appreciating some good tea and a quiet moment. It was frustrating, trying to figure the other girl out. Rei snorted. Even when she wasn't trying to, when she was doing nothing at all, Minako still found a way to bother her. Well, if Minako wanted to come to her home, she would have to be prepared for consequences. 

“Are you going to make Serena cry again?” she asked suddenly. 

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“You were very short with her yesterday.”

“Ah, that.” Minako said, looking away. “I told her it was fine.”

“And tomorrow? Are you going to snap at her again?”

“Of course not,” Minako said. “I'll admit, I got a little caught up in the match, but it's just a game after all.”

“Is it? You were treating it more like an actual competition.”

“I remember that first soccer game we played,” Minako said, meeting Rei's eye. “You were definitely competing then.”

“Because you pushed me there,” Rei said. “Who was pushing you yesterday?”

Minako looked away again. She didn't answer.

“And even if it was a competition,” Rei said, intent on pushing Minako more. “That wouldn't have helped Serena at all. You could use that tone on me, or Makoto, but not everyone responds well to that kind of 'motivation.'”

Minako looked at her again, half a smile on her face. “All this concern, it's almost like you care about me.”

Rei didn't take the bait. She wouldn't let Minako control the conversation. Minako sighed.

“It's a bad habit I have, I know. I'll be fine tomorrow, so you don't have to worry so much.”

“I'm not worried. I just find it interesting that you care so much about winning, but couldn't recognize you almost cost us the game. If you had laughed Serena's first miss off, she would have been more relaxed, and probably would have made her second.”

“You're right, you're right,” Minako said.

“I often am,” Rei said, glad she had successfully caught Minako off guard. 

“You know, you get more interesting every time I talk to you,” Minako said.

“What?”

“I didn't think you'd be bothered by- well, by anything I did that wasn't directed at you. But there you are, telling me off for being too competitive.”

Rei froze. She didn't like how closely Minako's words mirrored her thoughts about the blonde. Minako took one last drink from her cup and stood.

“I guess I can get out of your hair now,” she said. Rei stood too, to show her guest out. Together they made their way to the long staircase to the shrine. Minako stopped at the top step, and turned back towards Rei.

“I'm glad I came over today. Maybe I'll come back again,” she said.

“Don't.”

Minako laughed. “There's the Rei I'm used to,” she said.

“And don't use my name,” Rei said. 

“Sorry, I think I'm just happy you're paying so much attention to me.”

Rei tried to form a response but nothing came to mind. Her mouth opened and closed uselessly a couple times.

“See you at school, Rei-ko,” Minako said as she started down the stairs.

“What did I just say?” Rei yelled after her.

“Nicknames don't count!” Minako yelled as she started laughing and running. 

Rei groaned and returned to the shrine. That visit had left her with more to think about than she cared for, but the worst thing was that Minako was right- she was paying a lot of attention to that blonde-haired menace.


	9. Floor Hockey 2

The next day sped by, and too soon Rei found herself on the gym floor sitting next to Minako and the others, waiting for their turn to play. Minako wasn't acting any differently than usual, and she hadn't told anyone that she had visited Rei's shrine. Rei was fine with that.

“So what's the plan, captain?” Makoto asked. “Same as last class?”

Minako looked at her thoughtfully. “You know, I was thinking about it, but a little mouse reminded me that this is only PE.”

“I think you mean a little bird,” Ami said.

“Yeah, that. Anyway, I figured we could just go out there and, y'know, feather it,” Minako said easily.

“Wing it,” Ami said helpfully.

“Right. That.” Minako playfully stuck her tongue out at Ami, who maintained an innocent look.

“So can I come out of goal?” Makoto asked.

“Sure,” Minako shrugged.

“Can I play up field?” Melvin asked in his nasally voice.

“Yep.”

“Do we still have to call you captain?” Rei asked sarcastically.

“Absolutely.” Came the immediate reply.

“Yes sir, captain sir,” Serena said giggling. She threw an arm to her forehead in an exaggerated salute.

“Are you laughing at an officer?” Minako asked darkly.

“No sir,” Serena said, still giggling.

“That'll be a hundred push-ups private,” Minako said, as threateningly as she could. The effect was ruined by the laugh in her voice.

“Eh? Isn't that a little harsh?”

“For insubordination? Of course not!”

“Well, you see, push-ups aren't really my thing, so...” Serena took off and Minako chased after, intent on exacting retribution. The others laughed and cheered at their antics. Rei shook her head, though she was glad to see that the relationship between the two blondes was as healthy as ever.

Too healthy, she thought as Serena grabbed her and hid behind her.

“Help Rei, you're the only one she's afraid of,” Serena squealed.

“Apparently not as afraid as she should be,” Rei said, a warning tone in her voice as Minako continued to stalk towards her.

“Don't worry, I'm just after the blonde,” Minako said.

“There's a mirror in the locker room you can try.” Rei held her ground.

“More insubordination, eh? Watch out, or it'll be a thousand sit-ups for you.”

Rei readied a retort, looked behind her at Serena, and decided it wasn't worth it.

“You know what, she's all yours.”

Serena 'eep'ed' as Rei moved away from her and Minako jumped. From the field, the teacher's whistle blew, signaling the end of the game, and the beginning of their turn. Minako stopped short of tackling Serena. Serena stuck her tongue out as they made their way onto the field. Minako did the same.

After they were set, the ball dropped, and Rei's teammates ran wild. Minako and Makoto sprinted after the ball, Serena and Ami sprinted away from it, and Melvin and Molly… mostly stood around, wondering what the others were up to. Rei ran to the middle of the field. She arrived just in time to intercept a pass, which she sent towards Minako. Minako took it and ran with it, and Rei chased after her towards the other goal. Makoto joined them, and together they led a charge, with Serena and Ami tentatively following.

Minako was met by the other team. She passed backwards to Ami, who promptly hit it to Serena, who swung wildly in Rei's general direction. Rei sprinted to the ball, an opponent close behind. She didn't break stride to hit it, getting it to Makoto in front of the net, who raised her stick to the sky. The opposing goalie dove out of the way, whimpering the entire way to the ground, and Makoto swung. The ball rocketed to the back of the net.

Minako and Serena cheered and gang-hugged Makoto, who barely kept on her feet. Ami came up beside Rei as she headed back to their side of the field.

“That was surprisingly easy,” Ami said.

“Yeah, it was.” They had scored so quickly she hadn't had time to think about it, but everyone had worked together remarkably well. There hadn't been a plan, but each of them had taken a role and executed it- not perfectly, she thought, considering Serena was playing with them- but well enough to score. More, the other team didn't seem any worse than the one they had played the previous class. But they hadn't been able to stop them.

After the teacher reset the teams, they started again. The other team got the ball first, but couldn't form an effective attack. Minako and Serena aggressively hunted the ball, and Makoto, Ami, and Rei positioned themselves such that there were no clear paths to the goal. Rei again marveled at how well they were doing, and when they stole the ball back and scored again, she couldn't say she was surprised. They won handily.

At the end of class the others were in high spirits. Winning seemed to bring out the giggling in Serena, and her mood infected the others. Makoto and Ami were caught in a fit of laughter when Serena started a dramatic reenactment of her best moment; when she ran into an opposing attacker, accidentally stealing the ball and ending a dangerous opportunity for the other team. Minako joyfully helped her as the unwitting enemy player.

In the locker room the two blondes continued going over scenes of their victory. Their act quickly turned into some friendly roughhousing. Rei tried to maintain her cool demeanor amidst their enthusiasm, but it was difficult to do so when she got a face-full of someone's PE shirt. She spit out a sleeve that got in her mouth and grabbed the shirt and threw it to the floor. She looked around to Minako and Serena, and found them deeply engrossed in whistling innocently at the ceiling.

“I don't know which of you threw this,” she said while shooting a dirty look at Minako. “But you aren't getting it back.” Serena's head snapped down.

“No fair,” she said. “Minako threw it, but it's my shirt.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Minako said with mock outrage. “Does that sound like something I'd do?”

“Yep,” Makoto said from behind Rei.

“Yes,” Ami said from Minako's other side.

“Uh-huh,” from Serena. Rei just stared at her.

“Well, okay, but that doesn't mean I did,” Minako said, conviction in her voice. 

“Why don't I believe you?” Rei asked.

“Because you're a cynic?”

“I gotta agree with Hino on this one,” Makoto said.

“Indeed,” Ami added. “You can be quite rambunctious.”

“I don't know what that means,” Minako said. Rei cut her off. 

“It means loud and annoying.”

“But I know when I'm being insulted,” she finished loudly. Haughtily she turned to her locker and began to dress.

“Aw, I think we hurt her feelings,” Makoto said with a grin.

“We should show our captain more respect,” Ami said.

“We didn't mean it!” Serena dramatically shouted. Minako yelped as Serena bear-hugged her from behind. She struggled mightily to pull from the other blonde's grip.

“I meant it,” Rei said dryly. The others laughed. Slowly Rei realized she had said it to make them laugh.

“Don't worry, I know that's just how you show you care,” Minako said. The others looked at Rei, waiting for her response. She hesitated, but gave one.

“I see our fearless leader is fearless because she's delusional.”

The others chuckled, Minako huffed and smiled. They continued to cajole her while they dressed. Serena asked for her shirt back and Rei returned it. There was a warm feeling in her chest. She had never spent so much time talking with her classmates before. It was as if they were close. It was as if they were friends. 

The rest of the school day was spent in a daze. Rei didn't know how to feel about the sudden camaraderie the others were showing her. She didn't know how she would react when next they played together. She didn't know why she allowed herself to get involved with them. And she didn't know if she minded it was happening.


	10. Volleyball 1

“Today we will be playing volleyball.”

A loud squeal rang through the gym. Everyone turned to a certain blonde, who was excitedly holding on to her friends on either side of her. From behind her, Rei shook her head. She knew Minako was on the volleyball team, but still, her reaction was a little extreme.

The students were divided into teams of six by the teacher. Rei's team mostly consisted of kids from her class, including Makoto. Makoto too was on the volleyball team, and, more importantly, towered over every other girl in either class. If they went up against Minako's team, Rei was confident they would win.

The teacher had the students roll out the netting for the courts. The gym could be divided into six different volleyball courts. Rei grabbed a set of poles bound by a net, and Minako stepped in on the other side to help her. Rei sighed loud enough for Minako to hear her.

“Hey, aren't you excited?” Minako said.

“Not as much as you,” Rei said dryly.

“Well obviously, I mean, who could be? But even you should be excited. We're about to play the greatest sport in the world.”

“Is it?”

“Of course. It's fast-paced, team-oriented, physical fun.”

“Sounds great,” Rei said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“I can also show you something else that's fast-paced, team-oriented, physical, and fun.” Waggling eyebrows accompanied Minako's words.

“Team-oriented?” Rei poked.

“Yeah, two people working towards one goal,” Minako said confidently. 

“That's a stretch,” Rei said.

“Okay, maybe that wasn't my best effort. But still, it was pretty good, right?”

“That depends on your definition of pretty good.”

“Oh come on, I thought you'd be more into this. You've got a stacked team, if you play mine you'd get to really give it to me.”

“And you're… happy about that?”

“Oh, I'm not going to lose. But you were thinking that, right?” Rei frowned. Minako grinned. The teacher called for everyone to join their teams.

“Good luck Hino. Try and have fun.” Minako said with a wave.

“No,” Rei called after her. 

Rei's team gathered on one of the courts. Serena and Molly were on the opposite side, goofing around as usual. Rei snorted. The game was already won.

The rules were simple, and designed so everyone on each team would get to serve. The students would form two rows of three, with the student furthest back and to one side serving. When service changed, each student would move to the spot clockwise from them. 

After some cajoling, Makoto took the service spot first. Rei placed herself immediately to the left of her, hoping to serve as little as possible. While she had told Minako that she would challenge her in their classes, she hadn't said anything about trying hard when Minako wasn't involved.

“Zeroes,” Makoto called out. She tossed the ball in the air, and smacked it with an open palm, sending it over the net and starting the game.

Rei understood the general concept of volleyball. Keep the ball up and get it in a position to hit the ground on the other side of the net. There was usually a rhythm- bump, set, spike, on offense, and move, jump, block, on defense. A high school gym class had none of that. 

As the games progressed volleyballs flew every which way, careening at awkward angles off of arms, elbows, legs, and heads. Often the first or second hit would send the ball over the net, only for it to immediately return. Few points lasted longer than three volleys. Rei's team managed to send the ball back and forth four times in their longest rally.

During the course of their game, Rei noticed a distinct voice from across the gym. Several of her teammates stole glances down the courts and, despite herself, Rei looked too. Minako's team was set in a grid, each student covering a patch of court. When the ball was served to them, and on returns to them, Minako would call out the name of one of her teammates, who would bump it to the front row. The front row would set it high, and someone would jump and sack it over to the other team. None of the kids were tall or athletic enough to spike it, but Minako did have them operating like a real team.

During a break between points in her own game, Rei asked Makoto if anyone from the volleyball club was playing with Minako.

“No, it doesn't look like it.”

“But they're playing so well. Then that's just...”

“Minako being Minako. She's new to the team, but we'll be voting on captains soon, and there's a good chance she'll get it.”

Rei must have shown her surprise, because Makoto laughed at her reaction. “I know,” she said, “but when she takes something seriously, Minako's a force to be reckoned with. It can be a little scary even.”

“Scary?” Rei asked skeptically. 

Makoto chuckled. “If we play her, maybe you'll see.”

The game resumed and Rei considered Makoto's words. If Minako was that good, and could get a group of random high school kids to play well, she would have to play better herself. After all, Minako had been right earlier; she had thought her team could beat Minako's. Hopefully she wasn't right about the other thing, too.

Whistles blew and their game ended with Rei's team up by four points. The team, and the teams in their row, stayed in their courts while the teams on the other side of the nets changed courts. Minako's team was on the opposite side of the nets. Her team moved closer to Rei's. In two more games they would face each other.

The first game went by quickly. Rei focused on the ball, dutifully bumping the ball to Makoto, who could get high enough to slam it on the other side. Rei did her best to hit the ball consistently, though she found it difficult when she used her hands. She found the trick was to use the sides of her hands, thumb-side up, to hit the ball. She refined her technique every time the ball came her way. Before she realized how much time had passed, the whistles were blowing again, and a new opponent faced them.

She continued refining her technique against the new team. It was more difficult to focus on her own form considering how close Minako was. She had been a distraction from across the gym, now only one court over, she was much more noticeable. She was a flurry of noise motion, shouting 'I got it' or 'You you you!' at the top of her voice. 

As often as her eyes were pulled to her, it was only a matter of time before Minako caught Rei's eye. When she did, Minako flashed her teeth in a massive grin. Rei frowned in return and doubled her own effort.

The next time the whistle blew, the game and the class ended. Rei's team won their last game by seven points. More importantly, her hits were better and more consistent. She wouldn't be able to mach the blonde's sheer energy, but she could at least play with good technique.

The teachers had the students help stow the equipment, and again Minako came over to 'help' her. 

“So, did you have fun?” she needled.

“Of course not,” Rei said. Minako was unfazed.

“I know that means you did.”

“You know me too well,” Rei said sarcastically. Minako changed tactics.

“I was admiring your form,” Minako started, laying the innuendo on thick.

“Gross.” 

Minako grinned. “And I noticed you're actually pretty good. Any chance you want to join the volleyball club?”

“I'd say I'm busy after school- and I am, you know- but the truth, is I just don't want to.”

“That's too bad. I think you'd do pretty well. Plus I think the uniform would look really good on you.”

“The way you said that makes your offer even less appealing.”

“Well, I knew it was a long shot,” Minako said. “I'll have to settle for the next best thing.”

“What's that?” Minako's smile changed, growing sharper, more excited. Her voice dropped, to a low tone that raised the hairs on the back of Rei's neck.

“Beating you next class.”

Rei felt a thrill down her spine. Minako smirked and waved, leaving Rei with a feeling she rarely experienced; anticipation.


	11. Volleyball 2

Rei was tense as she entered the gym. Most of her day had been spent thinking of the match she was about to have. She hadn't been able to focus on her actual classes; the prospect of beating Minako at her own game kept fluttering through her thoughts. As PE drew closer, her thoughts slipped more often, to the point that she couldn't remember what had been covered. She wasn't even concerned about how much time she spent thinking of the blonde.

The idea of getting the upper hand in their… relationship excited Rei. Since that first class together, Minako had toyed with her. When Rei thought she was getting used to that, Minako had shown that she was capable of self-reflection, and consideration- that she wasn't someone out to get a reaction. At least, that that wasn't all she was.

But Rei was looking to take the initiative. If her team could beat Minako's, Rei was certain the other girl would be thrown off whatever other game she was playing. And when she was shaken, then Rei could… could… well, she hadn't actually thought that far ahead. But something would come to her, she was sure.

Warm-ups seemed to take longer than usual. Jogging didn't end. Each stretch was held for too long, and there were more calisthenics than usual. Rolling out and setting up the equipment dragged. But finally, Rei and her team faced Minako and her own. Minako caught her eye and waved excitedly. Rei scowled in return.

Each team took their positions. Minako took the back middle spot, to the left of the server. She would be last in the rotation to serve. Rei frowned. She had assumed Minako would want to serve first, to get her team off to a strong start. Something was wrong.

Rei's team served first. Rei was behind Makoto, who was in the row close to the net, on the left hand side. One of the boys was in the service spot. He called out the score, threw the ball into the air, and smacked it to the other side.

Minako immediately called for the ball, then shouted one of her teammate's names. She bounced the ball high and a teammate got under it. She called another name. The first teammate set the ball to the back row, and a second teammate hit the ball hard- right into Makoto's waiting hands. Rei's team cheered. They had scored first.

The ball was served again, and again Minako called for the ball. She continued to direct her team, and they managed to loft the ball over Makoto entirely. It was high and slow, and easily returned by Rei's teammates. Minako called on one of her teammates, and they volleyed again, trying to send it away from Makoto.

The teams managed to send the ball back and forth a few times before a misstep. One of Rei's teammates hit the ball at a bad angle, sending it flying across the room. Minako's team took the point, and service.

They served. It was a low shot, barely clearing the net, that Rei got under to hit to her front row. It was set, and Makoto jumped up to meet it. She sent it crashing down on the other side of the net. Rei's team cheered again, and rotated positions. Rei moved into the front row, and Makoto moved to her right, into the middle position. She glanced at Rei.

“We've gotta get a lot of points here,” she said.

“Why's that?” Rei asked.

“We're going up to fifteen points with only six people. If Minako gets to serve, that might be it for us.”

Rei frowned. “She's that good?”

Makoto nodded grimly. “It's her specialty.”

Behind them a teammate served. Minako's team got under it, set it, and Makoto moved, jumped, and blocked the return. Another point. Another serve came, but, even with Minako directing her team, Makoto covered so much of the net from her position that any returns were forced away from her. They were forced to hit the ball into small margins, just in bounds to either side of the court. If the ball was lofted over Makoto, it was easily returned. Rei's team racked up four more points before an errant pass ended up out of bounds.

Makoto shook her head.

“Six to two isn't enough?” Rei asked.

“Maybe I can get a few more points when I serve,” Makoto said uncertainly.

The game moved quickly from there. The teams traded points and serves, rotating when they did. When her team was up eight to four, Rei rotated to the last spot in the front row, and found Minako grinning at her thought the net. 

“Hino,” Minako greeted. Rei pursed her lips.

“Having fun?” Minako pushed.

Rei snorted. “No, but it's nice being on the winning side.”

Behind Rei, Makoto served. Minako's team couldn't return it. Rei smirked.

The grin didn't leave Minako's face, but it did change, just a touch. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows drew up. Her teeth shone, white and sharp. Rei couldn't look away.

The rest of the game was a blur to Rei. She couldn't get Minako's eyes out of her head. When she tried to pass the ball, or follow it's trajectory on the other side of the net, she would instead see Minako, with that sharp grin, watching her. When she waited for the other team to serve, a flash of blue would draw her attention instead. A shiver ran down her spine, and she wondered how prey felt under the eyes of a predator.

When Minako's turn to serve came, her team was down nine points to twelve. Beside Rei, Makoto grumbled. Minako called the score, threw the ball up, swung her arm, and the ball disappeared, reappearing with a loud smack on the ground at Rei's feet. Rei blinked, and turned to Makoto.

“That was a serve?”

“I told you, it's her specialty.”

Rei watched Minako serve again, closer this time. She could follow the ball, but the way it just cleared the net and dropped sharply afterwards made it hard to react to. Even Makoto had trouble with it, bouncing the serve up and over her head, instead of towards their team's front line as she usually did. They were in trouble

Minako's service continued. She aimed for different spots each time, and each time Rei's team failed to return it. She tied the score and kept going, until- “Fourteen twelve, game point.”

It was served to Rei, hard and spinning fast. Rei got under it with both arms, and with a solid thunk, the ball sailed back over the net. Her team cheered at their first successful return, but the ball flew too high and too far, and landed out of bounds. Minako had scored six unanswered points, leading her team to victory. 

Rei was gutted. A whistle from the teacher sent the teams moving to the next court, to face another team. The game started, but Rei couldn't get invested in it. Not after losing the way they had. Not after losing to Minako. After the first point, Makoto turned to her.

“Man we almost had it,” she said. 

“It didn't feel like it.”

“All we needed was one good return,” Makoto said. “Probably.”

“Probably,” Rei snorted. “Do you know how frustrating that is? How frustrating it is to lose to her?”

“Well, not really. But it does seem like she goes out of her way to give you a hard time.”

“Thanks for noticing.” 

A serve interrupted their conversation. When the point was over Makoto turned to her again.

“You know, it's probably because of how you react to her.”

“Are you saying it's my fault she's messing with me?”

“Uh, no?” Makoto looked flustered. “I mean, you rise to her challenges, right? Like today, you wanted to beat her, right?”

“So what?”

Another serve interrupted Makoto's answer. When it was over, Rei glared at Makoto, who appeared a little more composed.

“So she messes with people a lot, but she always comes back to you. I think because you can't help but respond. Every time”

Rei wished she could say she was surprised, but she couldn't. She was, however, annoyed.

“So I should just let her mess with me? Give up when she starts?” She asked.

“If you want her to leave you alone, yeah.”

Rei turned away from Makoto, unhappy. She considered her words. She had known that reacting to Minako only fed into the other girl's actions, but she had never considered backing down. To do so would be tantamount to admitting defeat. 

Of course, there was a certain logic there. Minako continued to approach her because her reactions appealed to the other girl. If she cut off those reactions, even Minako would learn to leave her alone. Surely she could sacrifice her pride one or two times for some peace and quiet. Rei breathed deeply. She would try it.

When class ended, she made her way to the locker room. Someone fell in beside her.

“Are you sure you don't want to join the team?”

Rei kept walking.

“I only ask because it looked like you were really into it.”

They reached the locker room. Rei stayed quiet. From the corner of her eye she saw Minako frown.

“And that was the closest any team came to beating mine.”

They stopped at Rei's locker. She started to get herself together, and Minako slowly started to move away. Rei pursed her lips. Minako looked ready to say something, but seemed to think better of it. She turned to go to her own locker. 

Ignoring the other girl seemed to be working. Minako wasn't sure what to do, and had given up- for the moment, at least. All it had taken was some silence from Rei. Silence while Minako poked fun at her. And reminded Rei that she had lost again. And got in the last word.

“It's only because you're on the volleyball team.”

Minako spun around and Rei cursed herself. “What?”

There was no going back.

“You should win, if you're on the volleyball team. If we came that close to beating you, I have to wonder how good the school's team is.”

A bright smile lit Minako's face. “Then you really should join. You've got a lot of potential, you could make us better.”

“Pass,” Rei said.

“Exactly.”

Rei frowned at her. 

“You know, that's what you would do. Pass. Get it?”

Rei gave her a long suffering look. “That was a stretch.”

“I could help with that,” Minako said. “Actually, it'd be my pleasure.” She leered at Rei. Rei groaned.

“Get,” she said sharply, pointing to Minako's locker. Minako winked and bounced away, leaving Rei wondering why she couldn't keep her big mouth closed.


	12. Lunch 2

After a day of reflection, Rei was no closer to understanding her own actions than before. She had been so close to freedom from Minako. If only her competitive streak hadn't come out. It wouldn't let her lose, even if losing would work out better for her. Minako had been walking away, and even if though Rei was sure the blonde would have tried a few more times to get a rise out of her, she would have given up entirely if Rei could only keep her mouth shut. 

But what was done was done. She knew that she couldn't ignore Minako, and responding when the other girl came after her would only keep things between them the same. Rei didn't want to fight a defensive battle. There was nothing else for it. She would have to take the fight to Minako. 

That day at lunch Rei sat at her desk, unopened lunch in front of her. She waited until Minako and Serena came in as usual to sit with Ami and Makoto. Rei tried to prepare herself for what she was about to do. After a few moments of contemplation, and several deep breaths, she grabbed her lunch and made her move. 

She walked over to the foursome and realized when they looked at her that, although she had steeled her resolve, she hadn't thought of anything to say. A few silent moments passed before she could speak.

“Mind if I join?” She did her best to sound nonchalant.

Minako seemed surprised, but spoke up cheerily. “Not at all. Here, have a seat.” she said, patting her lap. 

Rei turned up her nose and grabbed a nearby empty chair, pulled it over and sat.

“I never thought you'd sit with us,” Makoto said. “Well, not with Minako here. Why they change of heart?”

“You know that old saying,” Rei said. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

Minako pouted and Makoto laughed. 

“Well, you're not much of an enemy to me,” Minako said. “After all, I already beat you in volleyball.” She paused a moment and thought. “And soccer too.”

Rei pointedly ignored her and opened her lunch. Minako looked only slightly miffed. 

“Ooh, that looks so good,” Serena said, pointing at Rei's lunch. “Who made it?”

“I did,” Rei said. 

“You're domestic too? You're perfect,” Minako said. Rei again didn't respond. “Come on, gimme something to work with.”

Rei knew she would have to, considering she had been unable to ignore Minako all this time anyway. She looked at Minako's lunch. She and Serena both had convenience store lunches, mostly sweet breads and snack foods with juice. 

“That looks… good?” Rei said. She had never had convenience store food before and wasn't certain of the quality. Though she was sure healthier foods could be found there than what the two blondes had picked. 

“Hey, we can't all be like you and Ami,” Minako said.

Ami had a packed lunch as well. There seemed to be a healthy mix of foods, much like Rei's lunch. Makoto had one of the school's cafeteria lunch sets.

“This isn't much,” Rei said. Ami nodded in agreement.

“Are you kidding?” Serena asked.

“Yeah really,” Makoto added. “I've been jealous of Ami's lunch since school started.”

Ami blushed. “Oh really, this is just something quick I made in the morning. It's nothing special,” she said.

“It's not our fault you two sleep in. Wake up at an appropriate hour and you could prepare something too,” Rei said.

“I'm sorry, but school doesn't even start at a reasonable hour,” Serena said.

“That's why you spend the first couple of periods with your eyes half closed, right?” Minako prodded. 

“I don't want to hear that from miss 'can-I-see-your-notes-I-slept-through-class,” Serena responded, sticking out her tongue.

“You asked Serena for notes?” Makoto asked, eyebrow raised. “No offense,” she quickly added, looking at Serena.

“Hey, I take notes too you know,” Serena said.

“Sometimes,” Minako teased. “And what else are friends for, if not to give you notes when you miss them?”

“And I thought I was cynical,” Rei said. “Do friends always have to give you something?”

Minako perked up. “No, but there's something I'd like you to give me.”

Rei coughed and glared at Minako. Makoto and Serena laughed, and Ami blushed. 

Minako threw her hand up in front of her. “That's not even what I meant,” Minako said, half sincere and half smirking. 

“I'm sure,” Rei said. “Can you tone it down? We're trying to eat.”

“Exactly,” Minako said. “I was thinking you could make me lunch.”

Rei rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I'm not in the business of making lunch for lazy blondes.”

“I prefer to think of it as selective effort,” Minako said. 

“You would,” Rei said. “And no, I won't be making you a lunch.” She turned to her lunch and started to eat. Minako seemed to expect that response, and turned to Serena.

The group talked throughout the next half hour. She tuned out when Minako, Serena, and Makoto began talking about a show they had watched the night before. She had nothing to contribute when they started in on the stores they wanted to visit to buy the clothes they wanted to buy. When the topic switched to classes, Ami joined in, and Rei was pulled in as well with a question about her favorite class. Although she didn't exactly love school, she could contribute to the conversation. She diligently paid attention in class, and finished her work on time; concepts she was sure Minako and Serena wouldn't understand.

All in all, lunch with the other girls was a surprisingly pleasant. Ami was insightful. Everything she said exuded intelligence, even though she wasn't trying to show off. Rei wondered how Minako and Serena kept up with some of the things the blue-haired girl said. Makoto was down to earth, and able to relate to the two blondes airheads, as well as Ami and Rei. She was friendly, polite, and patient. That patience explained how she put up with Serena. Serena often said the stupidest things. More than once, Rei felt the urge to comment on something the blonde said, though she mostly managed to hold back. Still, she couldn't deny Serena's friendliness. She went out of her way to include everyone in the conversation and always had something nice to say. 

Minako even kept her innuendos to a minimum. Rei did expect Minako was saving up for something big. She was probably trying to lull Rei into a sense of security so she could drop something big on her. Still, without the innuendos Minako's wit shined. Rei knew the other girl was quick from their frequent spats, but it was hard to enjoy when it was directed at her. Of course, her air-headedness occasionally slipped out now and again, particularly when she got a well-known saying wrong. 

Lunch came to an end, quicker than Rei was used to, and Minako and Serena returned to their own class. Rei excused herself back to her own seat to collect herself. She was sure that breaking her solitude would be the talk of the class for the next day or two, but she wouldn't let that bother her. Lunch had been a tolerable experience, but she couldn't say it would continue to be so if she kept eating with the other girls. She was also sure Minako would eventually say something suggestive to get a rise out of her. 

Rei still couldn't figure the other girl out. She had seen many sides to Minako, but had no idea what Minako wanted, or even her own thoughts on the blonde. She had been perfectly content ignoring her classmates until the blonde came around. She interacted when she had to, and she was sure some of them were fine, but mostly she found other people annoying. Minako was no different, but as annoying as she could be, she pushed the perfect combination of Rei's buttons to get her to respond.

Rei couldn't be certain why she had sat with Minako and her friends either. She knew she wanted to take the fight to the blonde, but she couldn't say what that fight was. Was she trying to show Minako that she wasn't bothered by her provocations? Was she trying to get Minako to stop them entirely? How would Rei react if she was successful either way? Why was the other girl intent on bothering her? And why was she so good at it?

Class started again, and Rei tried to focus on the teacher. She would figure things out over time. After all, she had succeeded in taking some initiative from Minako. Hopefully the blonde would continue to hold back, at least until Rei could sort her out her own thoughts and feelings. Rei frowned. She was afraid she was in for a long battle.


	13. Badminton 1

The next few weeks were chaotic for Rei. She didn't join Minako and the others for lunch every day. On gym days she would eat alone, and the other days she sat with the other girls. She didn't know how she would handle Minako twice in one day, and told her as much. 

Minako continued to tease her during PE. Rei gave as good as she got- most of the time. There were still times when Minako could make her blush. However lunch continued to be surprisingly pleasant. The blonde preferred to spend her lunchtime talking to everyone, cheerfully pulling people along with her wherever the conversation led. Rei was relieved at the lack of teasing, enough so that she didn't mind engaging with the blonde. She wasn't quite seeing a new side of Minako- she knew the other girl was bright and lively and could, in fact, restrain herself- but it was still refreshing to not be on edge around her.

A greater change came in how she viewed the other girls. She had never put much thought into anyone at school, but now she was around these people very often, and couldn't help but get to know them. Her first impressions had largely been accurate. Makoto was boisterous but kind, Ami was quiet and shy, and Serena was a ditz. 

Only small, surprising things flew against her expectations. Maktoto's notebooks were covered in doodles of flowers and cute characters that were quickly covered by the tall girl. Ami would let her impish wit fly every so often, quietly interjecting with occasionally sharp, but always friendly retorts. Serena was expectedly forgetful and surprisingly thoughtful. Where she didn't remember lessons or schoolwork, she remembered personal details; likes and dislikes, and important dates and events in her friends' lives.

Of course, she knew objectively that people were more complicated than their first impression. However it was another matter to experience the differences. Frankly, it was something she had avoided when it came to her classmates. Getting close to others never ended well in her experience.

One day, in PE, the teacher told them they would be playing paired badminton, girls vs. girls and boys vs. boys. Rei could practically feel Minako's gaze on her.

“Hey Rei,” Minako said.

“No,” Rei replied.

“Come on,” Minako whined.

Rei thought quickly. “We can't play each other if we're on the same team.”

Minako frowned and narrowed her eyes at Rei, clearly suspicious of Rei's motivations. Still, the prospect of playing against Rei was enticing enough for Minako to nod. 

Most of the other girls in the class were already paired up. Ami and Makoto were nearby, though already standing next to each other. They were talking to Serena and Molly, and Rei got an idea. She knew Serena was excitable, and she seemed to enjoy Rei almost as much as Minako did.

“Tsukino,” she said, getting the blonde's attention.

“What's up?”

“Let's partner up.”

Serena squealed and Molly looked uncertain. Minako sidled up to her.

“Me and you, Molly,” Minako said, throwing an arm around the other girl. “We're going to take them down.”

Molly seemed less than thrilled at the prospect of a serious match, but Minako shook her shoulder and grinned. Molly seemed to accept the situation and smiled back. Rei again found herself amazed at the effect Minako could have on the people around her. The other girl effortlessly connected with people and could bring them around to her point of view. 

“Come on, partner, let's get some rackets,” Serena's cheerful voice cut through Rei's thoughts. Reluctantly Rei followed Serena. She wondered if she had just traded one problem for a new, but equally bad one. 

Serena rushed to a court, motioning for Rei to hurry up and join her. She was practically bouncing in her excitement. Rei stalked after her, and Minako followed, dragging Molly behind. They took the place opposite Rei and Serena, and with the way Minako was looking at her, Rei steeled herself for an intense game. 

The game started with Minako serving. She went right at Rei, who returned it with no problem. Despite how quickly the birdie travelled when first hit, most of its speed left it by the time it passed the net. Minako called out to return the birdie on the other side of the net. She did, and the group had a rally going. Rei and Minako took most of the shots, but Serena and Molly inevitably had to take some as well. Unfortunately for Rei, Serena took a shot first, sending it directly into the net. Rei huffed.

The game continued that way, with Rei and Minako driving the volleys, and Serena and Molly ending them. Of course, Rei and Minako weren't mistake-free. But the points came largely from the other two. The points added up quickly, and soon the game was tied at match point. Rei served hard and fast towards Minako. She wanted to win against the other girl, not Molly. Besides that, she knew she would never hear the end of it if it looked like she was running away from facing Minako. Minako returned the serve, and they volleyed. 

They each darted around the court, calling off their partners to get the final point themselves. However, Serena was an excitable person who wanted to be involved in the game as well. On one return the birdie headed close to Serena, who loudly called for it, energized and smiling widely. Rei despaired as she watched the blonde swing, smashing it over the net and out of bounds.

Across the net, Minako cheered and high-fived Molly. Serena wailed and Rei groaned. Minako flashed her a triumphant smile before sticking her tongue out at Serena. Serena returned the gesture.

As they left the court Serena started complaining.

“I really thought I had it that time,” she said.

“I bet,” Rei said under her breath. She knew Minako would gloat about her ill-gotten victory later. Serena didn't seem to hear her. The teacher called for the teams switch to new opponents. 

Their next game went much like the first. Rei struggled to keep them in it, but more often than not, when the shuttle reached Serena the other team scored. Constantly running around the court to cover for Serena's mistakes left Rei breathless and irritated. When the teacher's whistle blew for them to switch opponents again, they were losing handily. 

“You know, I think I'm getting better,” Serena said. Rei rolled her eyes. She was breathing too heavily to believe the other girl had gotten any better.

“I know we lost, but still, that was a lot of fun,” Serena said. “I'm glad you wanted to be partners, I was beginning to think that you didn't like me.” Serena turned a big smile towards Rei.

“I wonder what gave you that impression,” Rei said flatly. 

Serena laughed nervously. “Actually, you do seem a little angry. Did I mess up your thing with Minako?”

Rei had to consider the question for a few moments. Of course, losing to Minako was frustrating, and Serena was the direct cause of that loss. And Rei could admit that the competitive side of her was angry about losing twice in a row. Even the phrasing of the question bothered Rei- she didn't have a 'thing' with Minako. Besides that, Serena's loud voice, air-headedness, and general exuberance rubbed Rei the wrong way. She couldn't understand how someone could be that excitable all the time. 

But still, watching Serena's face grow more worried the longer the silence stretched between them bothered Rei more than she expected. After all, while the other girl was annoying, she certainly wasn't malicious. Her excitement and energy allowed her to befriend almost anybody. And even if her distinct lack of physical ability had cost them a game against Minako, it was only a game. And Serena had only been trying to help. Rei sighed. Maybe she had a weakness for blondes.

“I don't have a thing with Minako. She just gets extra annoying when she wins.” They settled in on a new court. Makoto and Ami took the spot opposite them.

“Well then, next time we'll just have to, won't we?” Serena said brightly. 

As they stood facing Makoto and Ami, waiting for them to serve, Rei frowned. Next time. She hadn't considered continued exposure to Serena in PE. She didn't have to be angry at her for their loss to Minako, but next time? 

Rei watched Serena swing at Ami's serve, missing the shuttle entirely and tangling her racket in the net instead. Next time she'd grab someone a touch more coordinated.


	14. Lunch 3

The next class was badminton again, and immediately Serena jumped to Rei's side and clutched her arm. Rei's glare seemed to have no affect on the blonde. Maybe she would have to rethink her behavior around Minako- clearly more and more people were getting too comfortable around her. That notion was reinforced when she felt Makoto clap her shoulder. She smiled down at Rei.

“Good luck today. You'll need it if you want to win even one game,” she joked.

Serena stuck her tongue out at Makoto as Rei shook her off.

“Now be nice, not everyone can block a shot before it crosses the net,” Ami said. Serena gave Ami an appreciative look until she continued. “Some people just just bring the whole thing down with their racket.”

Rei shook her head and snorted as Serena began to defend herself. She couldn't help a wry smile until an elbow in her side took her by surprise.

“Is that a smile from the aloof miss Hino?” Minako's voice cajoled. Rei faced her and turned her nose up.

“I can enjoy a good joke.”

“Really? I guess there's a first for everything,” Minako said.

Rei saw an opening. “If you haven't heard me laugh, it's because your jokes just aren't very funny.”

Minako gasped with mock outrage. “I'll have you know most people find me hilarious. You just have no taste.”

“Most people have _bad_ taste. _I_ have _refined_ taste.”

“Ah, that must be why everyone thinks you're so hard to approach. You never laugh at their jokes.”

“That's just the way I like it,” Rei said. She committed to glaring at Minako until Serena latched onto her arm again. Minako slowly smirked.

“Yeah, just the way you like it.”

“What are you two talking about?” Serena asked.

Minako opened her mouth but Rei cut in before she could say anything. “Nothing,” she said. She pushed Serena off of her again.

Minako gave her a knowing look. “Yeah,” she said, smirking. “Nothing.”

Serena glanced between them, but shrugged and grabbed Rei's hand and pulled her towards a court. Rei let herself be dragged along, but for the entire trip she could feel Minako's gaze on her.

As she and Serena played, Rei kept meeting Minako's gaze. Whenever she did, the blonde would send her an infuriating smile. Rei didn't know what Minako was thinking, but she knew it was something bad. Sure enough, after class ended and they were in the locker room, Minako snuck up behind her.

“I know exactly how you like it,” she whispered, and Rei whipped around ready to give her hell, but Minako was already laughing and running away.

The next day at lunch Rei was tempted to stay away from Minako's table. She wasn't sure what she would do if Minako had another remark, and it was a safe bet that the blonde would. But when Minako and Serena entered the classroom for lunch, Rei found herself picking up her lunch and joining them anyway. She didn't want Minako thinking she was running away after all.

Lunch was normal at first. Minako wasn't any worse than usual and she and the other girls were discussing how they were faring in their classes. Ami was predictably having no trouble, while Makoto was keeping up, but did lament how difficult the tests were. Minako and Serena on the other hand were moaning about everything: the lessons were too long, there was too much homework, and really, when would they need to use anything they were learning in the real world?

Rei had just finished eating when Minako started a dangerous conversation.

“So I was thinking, since there are a lot of tests coming up,” she began. Everyone turned to her expectantly. “We should all get together and study.”

“Oh what a good idea!” Ami said. “So you want to take your studies more seriously?”

“Yeah right, she just doesn't want to repeat a grade,” Makoto said. Minako stuck out her tongue at the taller girl.

“Count me in,” Serena said. “I need all the help I can get.”

“And we know that's a lot,” Minako said.

“Look who's talking,” Serena fired back. Minako turned her tongue to Serena.

Makoto cut in. “So how much goofing off should we expect? I'm guessing at least half the time will be spent not studying.”

“Hey, we can be serious when we want to be,” Serena said.

“We just rarely want to be,” Minako finished.

“Thanks for proving my point,” Makoto said. She turned to Ami. “You know you'll be doing most of the helping. Think you're up for it?”

“They say you really understand something when you can teach it to someone else,” she said. “So it'll be good for me too.”

Rei stayed quiet throughout the conversation. She wanted to assume Minako only meant the girls aside from Rei, but knowing the other girl, Rei had a suspicion that she wasn't safe from being included.

“Where should we meet? My house is a little cramped,” Serena said.

“Same here,” Makoto said. Ami nodded as well. Rei's stomach dropped. She looked at Minako and knew she was doomed from the mischievous look she saw.

“Well I know a place that has plenty of room. Everyone can spread out, and we'd even have a gracious host.”

“Oh yeah?” Makoto asked in disbelief. Ami seemed to know where Minako meant and glanced nervously at Rei. She winced.

“Yeah,” Minako barreled ahead. “Hino's shrine.”

Serena exclaimed 'oh' and clapped in excitement while Makoto glanced at Rei and burst out laughing. “She doesn't look okay with hosting,” she said.

Minako waved her off. “I was talking about her grandfather. We really hit it off when I visited.”

Serena gasped. “You visited Rei's shrine without me?”

“You've never been? It's beautiful. That settles it, it has to be your shrine,” Minako said. She turned to Rei and smiled. “Come on, you know it's a great idea. We can all help each other with the material we don't know.”

“What material do you know that I don't?” Rei asked pointedly.

Minako thought for a moment. “Well, Ami can help you and Makoto, then you can help me and Serena. After all, I heard that you only really understand something when you teach it to someone else.”

“I wonder where you heard that.” Rei said dryly. “Also no, you can't use my family's shrine to host a study group.”

“Well of course, your grandfather would be hosting it,” Minako said.

“You know what I mean,” Rei said rolling her eyes.

“I'm serious here. We could all afford to study more, right?” Minako asked the table. Ami looked hesitant, Serena aggressively nodded, and Makoto looked like she wanted to agree, but didn't want to annoy Rei.

“I study better on my own,” Rei said.

“Oh come on, it won't be that bad,” Minako said.

“So it would be at least a little bad?” Rei asked.

“That's not what- guys, help me out here,” Minako said, turning to the others.

“Please, Rei,” Serena implored, hands pressed together and eyes big and watery. “I really need help so I can pass and stay in the same grade as everyone.”

Rei had to look away. That girl was dangerous. “Don't call me that, we're not that close,” she mumbled.

“I'm not in the same boat as these two, but extra review never hurt anyone,” Makoto said. Rei wanted to point out that Serena and Minako seemed offended at the mere thought of extra review, but knew that she was growing closer and closer to giving in. Joking around, even at the expense of Minako, would be dangerous to her resolve.

“Well, I may not need the help,” Ami said, still hesitant. “But I would hate to see my friends fall behind when I could help.” She blushed, embarrassed at her own sentiment. Rei was struck by how different this girl was from the image she had had throughout most of her school years. She had always been famous throughout the entire school for always having the highest grades. But she had been so distant and quiet, and few people talked to her for anything outside of schoolwork. Yet here she was, surrounded by friends and trying to help them. Friends who had sought her out and helped pull her out of her shell.

Rei was quiet for a moment. She looked from Makoto, who was smiling gently and patting Ami's hand, to Serena, who was still staring at her with begging eyes, to Minako, who had a triumphant look on her face. Rei glared at her.

“Just this one time,” she said. “Because I know I'll never hear the end of it otherwise.”

Makoto cheered and Ami clapped. Serena snatched her hands and started thanking her profusely. Minako kept smiling at her. As they arranged a day that would work for everyone, Rei hoped she wouldn't regret allowing the blonde into her house- more than she already did at least.


	15. Shrine 2

It was a few days before everybody was available to meet up. Minako and Makoto had volleyball practice, and Ami  was  studying at a cram school on her own.  When the day  of the study session finally rolled around, Rei found herself more nervous than she had expected.  The only classmate who ever visited had been Minako. While she knew she kept the shrine in good condition, she couldn't shake the idea of potential judgment.

While she waited for the other girls to arrive, she kept a sharp eye out for her grandfather. When she told him friends were coming over he jumped for joy. Rei knew he remembered Minako- who wouldn't?- and was anticipating more girls to ogle. Despite her many warnings to leave them alone, she was certain he would involve himself as much as he could.

She was surprised when she saw Minako alone at the entrance of the shrine. She was early. Rei was even more surprised when a nearby bush spoke.

“ I thought more  girls were coming .”

Rei stalked over to the bush. “Just couldn't help your self, could you old man?” She reached in and pulled her grandfather out by his collar. 

“Is this any way to treat a priest?” he squawked indignantly.

“Is that any way for a priest to act?” Rei fired back. “Staring at girls the same age as your granddaughter?”

“I'm just appreciative of beauty in all its forms,” he said. He dusted himself off and straightened his clothes indignantly.

Minako spotted them and jogged over, smiling and waving. “Hello Hino. Nice to see you again, Head Priest,” she said with a bow.

“And you as well,” he said, returning the bow. He opened his mouth to continue, but Rei cut in.

“Yes, good you could meet again. Now I believe the grounds need looking after,” she said, pointedly staring at her grandfather.

“Oh, I can visit for a few minutes,” he said, not even looking at Rei.

She dropped a hand heavily on his shoulder and squeezed. He finally looked her way. “You could use the physical activity. It'll be good for your health.”

He gulped at her tone.

“Well, I seem to recall some pruning I could do.”

“On the other side of the shrine,” Rei forcefully continued for him. Her grandfather nodded quickly and took a few steps back.

“Right, the other side of the shrine.” He turned back towards Minako. “It seems she's running me off again. But please, if you need anything, I'm more than happy to help. Rei can be a terrible host.”

He and Minako shared a laugh that ended abruptly when Rei took a threatening step their way. He scurried away, though Minako continued to smile.

“You're so rough with him,” she said.

“He's usually harmless, but he's troublesome when he's around a pretty girl. Then he has to be reminded he's a priest, not an animal.”

“All I heard was you think I'm pretty” Minako teased.

“I didn't- he thinks that, that's all,” Rei said. It sounded weak to her own ears.

“Mmhmm.”

Rei took a breath to collect herself. “Where are the others? I thought you'd be coming together.”

Minako hesitated and looked away. That was different. Usually she had an answer for everything.

“ Let me guess,” Rei said. “You told  them  not to come so you could have me to yourself?”

Minako flashed a brief, tight smile. A fake smile. She looked down and stood awkwardly. Her feet shuffled as she looked at them. Rei was unsettled by the dichotomy between the blonde's usual self and what she saw before her.

“I wanted to talk to you about something. I know it's bothersome… I'm bothersome to you.” She was quiet for a moment. Her face was serious. Rei frowned, uncertain where Minako was leading the conversation.

“I've teased you a lot, and… provoked you. You react to me in such a unique way, I can't help myself. After our first game together I asked about you. There wasn't much to hear except how you're so reserved and unapproachable. That and... well, I heard about your mother. I heard who your father is.”

Rei stayed quiet. No one, not even her grandfather, had tried to talk to Rei about her parents. Normally she would have cut the other girl off and sent her away. But the serious subject and something in Minako's tone warranted Rei's attention. This was clearly something very important to the other girl. She would hear her out. Minako took a deep breath, gathering herself as if for some ordeal.

“I don't know what it's like to lose a parent, but I do know about having a distant one. After all, I have two.” Rei blinked. She hadn't expected that. Minako continued.

“My parents met when an English company opened a branch in Japan. My mother came over to help set it up, and I guess they hit it off. They got married, but they're both very… driven people. They both wanted to advance. So, they transferred to the main branch in England. Then they had me. My dad wanted me to have a Japanese upbringing, so when I was 'old enough', they enrolled me in a boarding school here. But they… they stayed.”

Minako took a breath to steady herself. Rei released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

“It was hard, growing up like that, separated so much from my parents. When I was young I would see them for big things: school meetings, some volleyball games. Of course, we spent school breaks together. But as I got older, they visited less and less. Until- until one time I got in trouble. I was doing so bad in my classes the school called for an academic meeting, and both of my parents showed up. They were angry, and they yelled and screamed, but they were there,” Minako said with a crooked smile.

“Minako...” Rei trailed off. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, but that melancholy tone from the blonde just wasn't right.

“Don't worry, Rei, I'm going somewhere with this.”

“That's not- nevermind. Go on.”

“So I got worse. I'd skip class, and when I did go I acted up. I was a regular delinquent. I got so bad they transferred me. Here. They thought it was influence from other kids, friends at my old school. They thought this school would be better for me, but warned me that if it happened again, if I started acting up again, they'd transfer me to a school in England. As if that were a threat.”

Rei was lost for words. Minako was sharing so much with her, and she didn't know how to react. This was unexplored territory, and not just with Minako- no one had ever shared anything like this with her before.

“Part of me wanted that to happen- I'd be closer to them, they'd have to see me more, right?” Minako paused, looked uncertain if she should continue. Rei almost didn't want her to, for Minako's own sake.

“The rest of me knew it wouldn't matter. If they wanted to see me, they would.” Minako's smile turned painful. “Sometimes I wonder if my parents really love me.”

Rei swallowed hard. What she was hearing was familiar. The creeping doubt, the questions she posed to herself; why isn't father here, why doesn't he see me, does he care, am I not good enough… the thoughts that hit her at her lowest, late at night when sleep wouldn't come. And Minako was laying them bare, admitting to having the same. She lowered her head in the face of such intimacy. Minako breathed out deeply, like she was freed from a heavy weight.

“So I was stuck. I didn't know anyone here, I didn't have anyone I could count on. But I got lucky- so lucky, in the people I've met here. The friends I've made. Makoto and Ami. The girls in the volleyball club. Serena,” she said with a sincere, if small smile.

“It's only been a couple of months but I can't imaging life without them. They're so kind, so open. Especially Serena- she opens her heart to everyone, it's amazing really. It can't replace a parent's attention, but I'm not lonely anymore. I never even realized I was- or at least, I never wanted to admit I was.”

“When I heard who your father is, heard you live apart, I started to wonder. At first I was just having fun, but the more I pushed, the closer I got, the more I realized how similar we are.” She reached out then to grab Rei's hands. Rei met Minako's earnest gaze.

“The difference is that I acted out, enough for my parents to notice, to do something. But you haven't done that. You wouldn't. You're not that kind of person. All that loneliness, all that pain; you've kept it in, haven't you?”

Rei's feelings were in chaos. She had never wondered about Minako's history, and never suspected how dark it might be. The girl who had caused her so much trouble had just laid her soul bare, told her things she probably hadn't told anyone before. Yet it was so familiar. Every emotion the blonde expressed rang true. To think that the loud, energetic Minako felt the same pain that she did was mind-boggling.

Rei couldn't speak to answer Minako's question. She seemed to know the answer anyway.

“I'm nosy, and a little pushy, so I wanted to help. Serena, Makoto, Ami… they're special. They really are, and they helped me, without even knowing they were, without meaning to. They can help you too. I just want- I guess I just want you to give them a chance. And not just today- let them keep coming over, study with them, have lunch, talk. I don't have to be there. I can make some excuse or see them some other time, but please, give them a chance.” Minako looked at her again with imploring eyes.

Through all of Rei's muddled emotions, through all the turmoil and upheaval one thing stood clear.

“You don't have to go,” she said quietly. Minako was silent. Rei squeezed her hands briefly. “You don't have to go,” she repeated louder.

“Ah- are you sure?” Minako asked. She sounded nervous. Who wouldn't be after showing as much of themselves?

“Yes.” Rei tried to convey… something, everything, to Minako. She didn't herself know what it was, but she knew it was important. Minako's gaze was heavy, but she wouldn't look away. After a few moments, she blinked, swallowed, nodded. She let go of Rei's hands.

Rei wanted to do more for Minako. She wanted to show Minako that she was truly okay with her, that she wasn't paying lip service or being polite. She wanted her to understand that Rei knew how hard it was to share such deep feelings with another person. But she wasn't very good with people, and trying to find the right words was difficult. She especially didn't know how to handle Minako. Their relationship was an odd one, built on Minako's teasing and Rei's remarks. But then, maybe that would do.

“I guess you haven't been as annoying as you thought you have,” Rei said.

A small, hopeful smile opened on Minako's face. “I guess,” she said slowly, “I'll just have to try harder.”

Voices floated over from the shrine stairs. Ami, Makoto, and Serena had arrived. Minako turned and waved them over.

It was strange how quickly her world could shift. She had been dreading their study group since it had been decided, especially having Minako invade her home again. With Minako's revelation… well she would probably still get on Rei's nerves, with her constant pushing and prodding. But knowing what the other girl went through, and that it was something Rei struggled with… she could give Minako a chance.


	16. Basketball 1

After Minako's revelation, Rei had much to think about. The blonde had thrown her world off balance. Their relationship had been built on antagonism; Minako pushed and prodded and cajoled, and Rei responded accordingly. But Rei now had a new perspective. That day at the shrine had shown her another of Minako's hidden sides. The pain in the other girl's voice as she had questioned her place in her parents' hearts had been genuine. The sincerity in her eyes when she asked Rei to give the other girl's a chance had been genuine. As cynical as Rei knew she was, she believed Minako had been speaking from the heart.

After the weekend, when classes started again, Minako had pulled back from her usual suggestive self. While she was generally as loud and boisterous as always, she didn't directly engage with Rei during lunch or PE. Rei didn't know whether she was embarrassed or was simply giving her time and space to process her emotions. Either way, it was time Rei needed.

What was she going to do? She already allowed Minako so much, but what of the others? Rei had never been good at dealing with people, especially people her own age. She had seen too many friendships end for stupid reasons, had heard too many conversations had behind another person's back. Her classmates seemed to have no problem saying one thing and meaning another. She could never tell where she stood with the people around her.

That was one of the reasons she enjoyed her role as a miko; she had never wanted the hassle of dealing with other people. Her role as a miko was well defined, and the visitors to the shrine had their roles as well. There were easy rules to follow for everyone. But with the group of girls she found herself surrounded by, there were no rules. Serena was at times brash, loud, and annoying, and at other times kind, caring, and sincere. Shy and timid Ami had a sharp wit. Makoto could fill a room with her personality or withdraw into herself. Minako was worst of all. She didn't even follow the rules she laid out with her own actions. Minako was supposed to be teasing, not sympathetic. She was supposed to be annoying, not genuine. She was supposed to make suggestive remarks, not heartfelt pleas.

Despite Minako's temporary retreat, Rei was no closer to resolving her feelings when their last PE class of the week came around. She was certain the other girl would start in again with her teasing, and she had now idea how she would react. Would she be able to act like she usually did? The last thing she needed was someone noticing any weird behavior and starting rumors. That was another problem with her classmates- they loved to talk about anyone and everyone. So she couldn't help but feel nervous when she entered the locker room for PE.

She managed to change in relative peace. Serena was chattering away, occupying Minako's attention. Likewise warm-ups went smoothly. Makoto and Ami were between her and Minako, unwittingly acting as a barrier. The teacher announced they would be playing basketball and split them into teams. As each team filled up they were sent to a court. For once, the five of them were split up. Perhaps she wouldn't have to face Minako that day after all.

That notion didn't last long. When Rei and her team made it to their assigned court, Minako was there, waiting with hands on her hips and half a smile on her face.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Minako said when Rei was close enough.

“In the gym class we have together? Color me surprised,” Rei said.

“So…” Minako sounded as lost as Rei was feeling. “Basketball, huh?”

Rei raised a critical eyebrow. A hesitant Minako was unexpected.

“That's it? No dirty joke? No suggestive pun?” she asked. She was sure Minako had something planned.

The blonde shuffled in place. “Well, I didn't want to push more than usual.”

Rei frowned. She seemed to be telling the truth. Maybe Minako was more affected by her own confession than Rei had thought. The whistle blew and the game started before she could pursue further. The game would provide ample opportunity for Minako to return to her usual self.

Except the blonde never did. She didn't avoid Rei- that would have been difficult with only two girls on each team, and the other girls were content to pace around near each other- but she didn't engage her either. She was playing normally. She was acting like Rei was just another classmate.

Rei was aware of the irony that only a week before, this would have been a dream come true. But Minako hadn't abandoned her challenge as fruitless. Rei hadn't convinced the other girl to give up her bothersome ways. No, this was Minako being timid. Rei didn't want a tainted victory. She wanted to come out of their challenge on top fair and square; even if she wasn't sure what that challenge was. This Minako didn't sit well with Rei. She resolved to get the old one back.

The next time her team had the ball, she called for a pass. The boys shrugged at one another and threw her the ball. She dribbled straight at Minako, just as the other girl had when they first met. Minako didn't seem to know what to do, so Rei faked one way then turned the other and blew past the blonde. She put in an easy layup. As she started down the court to play defense Rei made sure to bump her shoulder into Minako.

The next offensive possession she called for the ball again. Minako seemed to have caught on to Rei's plan and was guarding her more closely. Of course neither of them were great at basketball, but the pressure Minako put on forced Rei to pass to one of her teammates. An improvement, but something was still missing.

Minako's team brought the ball up the court but Minako didn't get involved. They scored and Rei's team took over. When they got to the other end of the court Rei moved towards Minako. Minako moved to block Rei's path, but Rei had another plan. She had seen one of the boys back into a defender to spin around them, and she planned to do the same. She called for the ball, got it, and turned her back to Minako. She kept moving backwards until she felt Minako's hand on her back and turn first one way then the other. Minako bit on the fake and Rei dribbled past the blonde again. There was another defender in her way, but that left one of her teammates open. A quick pass, a shot, and her team scored again.

The game continued in that same vein. When Rei got the ball, she targeted Minako. Minako would play her, but without her usual intensity. It became clear to Rei that simply playing the other girl hard wasn't going to be enough.

As they started down the court after her team scored again, Rei waited for Minako.

“You'll have to play me closer than that,” she said. She watched the other girl closely for her reaction. Minako bit her lip.

“I don't think basketball is my game,” she said. Rei frowned. That had been a perfect opening for Minako but she hadn't taken it.

“That's never stopped you from trying before,” Rei said.

“I am trying. Maybe you're just that good,” Minako said. An errant pass gave the ball to Rei's team, and everyone started to the other end of the court. Rei stuck by Minako.

“I don't think so. It feels like there's something missing.”

Minako glanced at her. “What is?”

The teacher's whistle blew, ending the game. The other students started filing towards the locker rooms, but Rei didn't move. Minako waited for her answer.

“You're not challenging me. I told you before I don't care about gym, and I still don't. But you kept pushing until I did care about beating you.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying you don't have to hold back on my account.”

Minako looked away.  “I d on't want to push my luck,”  she said.  Rei gave her a hard look and made her way to the locker room door. Minako followed.

“I know you're worried about how I'll react, but you don't have to,”  Rei said. “I can take anything you can give me.”

They stopped just outside the door. Rei turned to Minako, and the other girl considered her for a long moment.

“Are you sure?”  she asked.

Rei returned  her look with a challenging one of her own. “I know what I said.”

They stared at each other for a nother moment before a smile slowly spread on Minako's face.

“Alright then.  Y ou better prepare yourself.  T here's a n awful lot I'd like to give you. ” she said.  W ith a wink she waltzed into the locker room.  Rei shook her head and smiled at the closing door.  Minako was back.


	17. Shrine 3

That weekend the group had plans to study at Rei's shrine again. The prospect of tests for every subject served  to motivate even  Serena and Minako . Their previous study session had been surprisingly serious; though Rei's point of view might have been skewed by other factors.

Rei didn't tell her grandfather she was having her classmates over again. Instead, she had arranged shrine duties far from the main gates- at least until she could get the group inside. Then she would have him keep an eye out for other visitors, hopefully keeping him out of their hair while they studied.

The girls arrived  and Rei settled them  in the  f ire  r oom. She fetched drinks and snacks  and wasn't surprised when she had to chase her grandfather away when she returned. 

After everyone greeted each other and decided what they wanted to study, quiet settled over the group. Each of them was doing homework, or practice problems, or reading from their textbooks. Only occasional questions broke the sounds of pen on paper and pages turning.

Rei was immersed in her textbook when the sound of Serena giggling bounced around the room. She looked up to see the blonde slap her hand over her mouth. She looked around at everyone incredulously.

“What'd'ya got there?” Makoto asked jovially.

“ It must be a really humorous problem,” Ami said.

“I'm sure,” Minako said with a smirk. She reached over to grab what Serena was reading. Serena tried to stop her, but after a brief struggle, Minako pulled away with a book of manga. She started flipping through the pages.

“Oh ho, this does look very informational,” she said.

“Come on guys, we've been studying for so long, I needed a break,” Serena said.

Rei glanced at her phone's clock. “Almost an entire half hour. I'm surprised any of us made it this long,” she said.

“Here we go,” Minako said. “I found what Serena was studying.” She turned the  book around for everyone to see.  On one side a girl blushed and stared up at another person. On the other, the two characters shared a passionate kiss. Serena snatched the book back and everyone laughed.

“ I didn't get that far yet,” she said defensively.

“Perhaps you should show me where you left off,” Ami said. “With your studies, that is. We can figure out what's giving you problems.”

“It might be faster to figure out what isn't giving her problems,” Minako said with a laugh. Serena stuck her tongue out at her.

Rei glanced at Minako's notebook. Despite the open textbook in front of the blonde, the only thing Minako had written down was the title of the chapter she was studying followed by intricate but crude doodles of the girls in the room. Rei raised a critical eyebrow.

“Looks like your studying is going about as well as Tsukino's ,” she said as she pointed to the notebook. “You might want to listen to Ami too.” 

“That's right, you're no better off than I am,” Serena said.  Minako looked at Rei with betrayal in her eyes. Rei shrugged in return.

Minako sighed and joined Ami and Serena for a lesson. Rei returned to her own textbook.  Every now and again she would hear Ami's voice softly explaining a concept with only mild complaining from the blondes. At one point Makoto brought a problem to Rei for help, and the two of them worked together to figure it out.

Time passed quietly.  Ami finished explaining an idea and Serena and Minako both nodded in understanding. They were congratulating each other when Ami turned the page to start a new concept. 

“ Enough,” Serena said dramatically. “If I learn any more right now my head will explode.”

“Let's just...” Minako said as she reached across Ami and closed Ami's book. “There. I can't look at another word for at least half an hour.”

“Well, I suppose you have been working hard,” Ami said.

“Don't be soft on them, Mizuno.  T hey've put off studying this long, and now they should pay for it,” Rei said. 

“How cruel!” Serena exclaimed.

“ You're downright inhumane,” Minako said. 

“They are starting to get it,” Ami said “ I think they may have earned a break .”

“Actually, I'm ready for a break too,” Makoto said. “Besides, I'm a little hungry.” She opened one of the snacks Rei had brought. “Anyone want any?”

Rei closed her books too and offered to refill everyone's drinks. Minako offered to help  and followed her to the kitchen .  Of course she  also tease d Rei about  how striking her serious face  was. Rei reminded her she was supposed to be focusing on studying, not  how other people looked. 

“I am studying- your features.”

Rei rolled her eyes.

When they returned everyone fell into an easy rhythm. It felt like they were sitting around their desks during lunch in school. Minako made a show of trying to feed Rei, though she was having none of it. That did start the others on feeding each other. They talked about their classes, then their favorite and least favorite snacks. Makoto asked about the manga Serena had brought,  starting a spirited discussion on romance manga. Makoto surprisingly had strong opinions about the genre. 

Rei was surprised when Ami  announced that forty-five minutes had passed. It hadn't even felt like fifteen. Everyone cleaned up and reopened their books- some slower than others- and resumed studying. Serena declared she needed help with literature, and Makoto chimed in she needed help as well. Minako got that look in her eye that Rei recognized as trouble. Minako grabbed her books and plopped down next to Rei.

“I could sure use some help in math,” she said.

“Only some?”

“Well I never! Here I am, innocently seeking help at a temple, and its miko insults me instead.”

Rei considered her for a moment. “The fact that you specifically said 'innocently' just makes me more suspicious.”

“ What a world, where our spiritual  guides are so cynical.”

“ With you, there's good reason to be cynical.”

Minako changed tactics. She lowered her head to look at Rei from beneath her eyelashes. “Please, I don't want to fall behind everyone.” She jutted her lower lip for extra measure.

Rei let out a long suffering huff, but  of course she nodded. Minako  said she  needed help with graphing and analyzing equations.  It was slow going. They worked diligently until she could find the slope of different equations as well as different points of intersection.  Rei grew more suspicious the  longer the blonde went without any sort of innuendo.

“ Next up we'll go over tangent lines, ”  Rei said  after Minako finished a set of practice problems.

Minako glanced at her. “ Actually I already studied tangent lines, ”  she said.

“Oh  really ?”  Rei asked. “Why?”

“ I wanted to learn how to lie tangent to your curves. ”

Rei took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What a  terrible pun. “ Did you remember that phrase just to make that joke ?” she asked.

“ Yes ,”  Minako answered proudly.

Rei opened her eyes to stare  the other girl down. “Shouldn't you try to actually remember the material?”

“Hey,  these can  _ totally _ help me remember the material ” Minako said defensively.

“ So what is a tangent line?”

Minako thought for a moment. “A line that hugs a curve tight.”

“Not quite,” Rei said. “It touches a curve at only one point.”

Minako smirked. “Touching at one point isn't so bad, if it's the right point.”

Rei groaned. “You'd almost be smart if put more effort into studying than dirty lines.”

“ That's pretty high praise coming from you,” Minako said. “ I have another  one , if you want to hear it.”

“I don't,” Rei said. “But I know you'll say it anyway, so you may as well get it over with.”

“That's the spirit,” Minako laughed. “How are your legs like an asymptote?”

Rei pursed her lips. She didn't want to give Minako any more reaction than that. Minako waited a moment for her to say something, but when she didn't Minako carried on anyway.

“ Because t hey go on forever.”

Ami and Makoto laughed from their seats across the table. Serena  looked around in confusion and  asked them to explain. 

“See, that  one is both useful  _ and _ suggestive,” Minako said proudly. “It's a win-win.”

“ You know, if you keep this up your chances of passing will be the square root of i,” Rei said.

“Oh, clever,” Ami said.

Minako glanced between them. “ What?  W hat is the square root of i?”

“Imaginary,” Ami said.

Minako looked at Rei, faux-offended.

“Now,” Rei said as she leaned towards the other girl, who watched her with worried anticipation. “Since you want to pass so badly, I'm going to make you do practice problems until I forget those awful puns. And I have a very good memory.”

Minako gulped and Rei smiled. This was going to be fun.


	18. Fitness Tests 1

The following week was a blur  of stress and tests.  Their teachers  were  too evil to stagger their midterms, and their PE teacher was no exception.  On their first class day of the week he announced that their physical fitness would be tested as well.  He ignored the groans from  some of the class- loudest  among them Serena-  and  split them into two groups, girls and boys. He took the boys  outside  to test their running ability and left the girls inside with another teacher.  She  told them  they'd they'd be doing curl-ups,  the  bar-hang, the forward stretch, and that they should pair up.

Before Rei could even  react Minako had firmly grasped her hand. Rei looked to Sere na hoping  to pawn Minako off on her, but she was already happily chatting with Molly. She didn't have to look to know that Ami and Makoto were already side by side. She yanked her hand from Minako's grasp and glared at her.

“ Fine, but d on't press your luck,” she said.

“No promises,” Minako said. She was beaming at her and practically bouncing in place.

“ I see you're not bothered by  _ these _ tests,” Rei said.

“Are you kidding? These are the only tests I know I can ace,” she said. She leaned in towards Rei. “And besides, I get to find out how flexible you are.”

T he teacher  came by before Rei could respond and handed her paper and a pen. 

“Keep track of you and your partners' results on these papers, students,” the teacher  announced to the class .  She led the m to several boxes with overhanging edges on one side. Centimeter increments were marked down the top of the box.  T he teacher asked for volunteers to go first  and Minako immediately raised her hand . Rei frowned, but stepped forward with Minako.

“ You first, or should I show you how it's done?” Minako asked challengingly. 

“ Watch and learn,”  Rei  said and sat at the box with her feet under the overhanging  edge . She leaned forward with  a long slow exhale and moved her hands along the top of the box, past where her feet met the box. Her back and thighs started to ache and she stopped moving forward.  She knew Minako would aim to beat her score. She also knew that she wasn't going to make it easy for the blonde.  With a final puff of air she managed just a little more.

“That's it,” she  grunted .

“Got it,” Minako said and Rei pulled back and breathed deep ly .  Minako whistled. “47 centimeters, not bad,” she said. 

Rei stood and took the pen and paper from Minako. “ Alright, let's see if you're all talk,” she said. Minako  licked her lips and grinned. 

Minako took her place at the device. Rei watched Minako's hands creep towards her record, match it, and just pass it. Rei pursed her lips.

“There,” Minako called out.

Rei  frowned . One centimeter further than her own result.  She marked it down. Minako stood and checked their paper. She laughed and nudged Rei.

“ I'm good at talking, but I'm much better at doing ,” she said,  tongue poking cheekily from between her lips.  They waited while the other students took their turns at the forward stretch. Serena, Makoto, and Ami all scored well, though  some of the other girls didn't try very hard. Minako's score came out as the highest in the class,  but that didn't make Rei feel any better, especially after the blonde pointed a smug smile at her. 

The teacher  next  walked them over to  one of the walls of the gym where two metal bars were bolted on. She  told  the class to  line up  in their pairs and that they would t e st how long they could hang with their  arms flexed and their chin above the bar.

“These tests are really useful,” Minako said as they took their place in line. “First I get to see how flexible you are, now how much stamina you have.”

Rei huffed and rolled her eyes,  but otherwise didn't bother responding. The line moved quickly. Most of the other girls only lasted six or seven seconds by Rei's count.  Serena's attempt ended after only four, and when she dropped from the bar she didn't land properly, ending up on her  butt . Soon enough it was her and Minako's turn.

“ Alright,  give me your paper,”  the teacher said. “W hen I say go get up there  and hang for as long as you can. Ready? Go.”

Rei and Minako jumped at the same time  and hung from the bar, chins over the metal and palms facing inwards. Rei knew it would be a short  but intense  match.  She started counting in her head and a lmost immediately her arms started to burn from holding her we i ght in such an unnatural position. But if there was one thing her shrine duties were good for it was building physical stamina.

When she got to seven seconds she heard a puff of air and strained growling from Minako.  Rei could sympathize. Only long hours in front of her shrine's spiritual fire controlling her breath allowed Rei to keep her own breathing steady. Just as she counted ten she heard Minako curse and drop to the ground. A few moments later her own arms gave out and she landed in a crouch. She shot a triumphant look at Minako, who stuck her tongue out in return.

“Very good,” the teacher said. “Aino, ten and a quarter, Hino ten point seven.”

Rei took their paper back from the teacher and  they moved away  from the bars.

“ Guess you can't  hang with me,” Rei prodded.

Minako gave her a look. “I can't believe you just said that. Here I was going to say we should hang together more often.”

Rei snorted. T ogether  they watched the rest of the class go. When everyone had their turn the teach pointed them all to thin blue mats arranged on the ground.

“Let's get four pairs up here for curl-ups,” the teacher said.

Naturally Minako stepped forwar d , and Rei followed suit. Rei was confident in her core strength.  She had built it up through archery practice, holding her body still against the tension in her bow.

“I'll go first, since you went first for the forward stretch,” Minako said. She lay with her back on the mat and her feet pulled up almost to her butt. Rei knelt in front of her and held her feet to the ground. Minako grinned up at her from her position on the ground.

The teacher spoke to the students on the mat. “Alright, do as many curl-ups as you can, your partners will count how many you do. Everyone set?” she was met by a collective 'yes'. “Alright, start!”

Minako was moving immediately.  Her movements were sharp,  rising and moving f orward until her elbows hit her legs then quickly back down for another rep. She had ten curl-ups done before ten seconds passed, Rei was sure.

But  Minako couldn't maintain that pace .  The teacher called out thirty seconds left  just as Minako hit thirty reps,  but Minako was only slowing down .  By the time she hit forty reps  Minako was breathing heavily and  starting to  sweat.  The teacher called out ten seconds left and t heir eyes met. Minako grit her teeth and  doubled her  pace , panting with her effort. She kept her eyes on Rei, who found her own breath caught in her throat. 

Rei could admit that Minako was pretty- and could admit to herself that the other girl was beautiful. But the Minako before her now wasn't merely beautiful. She was stunning. She was a symphony of color; golden hair bouncing with her movements, cheeks flushed red with her effort, and clear blue eyes full of challenge and spirit as they bored into Rei's own. Rei felt the back of her neck heat up. She had never been so struck by someone's appearance before. She couldn't look away.

Then the teacher called time, Minako flopped back, and the spell was broken. Rei  blinked. She could breathe again.

“ How many,” Minako groaned.

“Fifty,” Rei said, her voice sounding raspy in her own ears. Minako looked at her and smirked.

“Worried you can't match that?” she asked.  Rei blinked and tried to collect herself.

“As if,” she scoffed. “Get up so I can show you how it's done. If you can even move.”

Minako rolled to the side and pushed herself up. Rei took her place and waited for the teacher's signal to start.  Once given Rei was off.  She wanted to keep a steady pace, so she didn't start as quickly as Minako had.  Still, sixty seconds was a long time, and when the teacher called out thirty seconds had passed Rei could already feel her muscles burning.  She knew she was around forty curl-ups when the teacher  called out only ten seconds left, so Rei knew she had to speed up.  She pushed herself harder than she had in any other year, counting down the seconds until-

“Time!” the teacher shouted.

Rei collapsed back after her last curl-up and lay there panting at the ceiling for a few seconds. Minako moved to stand over her with an unreadable look on her face. Rei waited a few more seconds to catch her breath.

“Since you're not gloating I take it I won,” she said.

Minako  scoffed and offered a hand to help Rei up. 

“Fifty-two.”

Rei accepted the hand up and smirked at Minako. “I thought you were an athlete. Maybe you only practice as well as you study.”

“ Or maybe I could use a hand with that too. I can think of a couple of ways you could help me exercise,” Minako said.  They moved away from the mats to allow the next set of girls to go.

“ I can too,” Rei said, Minako's eyebrows shot up and she licked her lips.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. My idea involves  you running up and down  the shrine stairs, and  me with my bow and arrows  providing … motivation.”

Minako laughed. “ I think my ideas would be more fun for both of us.”

“Speak for yourself.”

The rest of the class cycled through the test.  Makoto did well, but Ami and Molly both struggled. Serena started strong but quickly devolved into moaning and grumbling through her last few  reps . Class was almost over when the last of the other girls finished, so the teacher told them they were done for the day and to be ready to run in the next class.

“I feel like I'm gonna throw up,” Serena said  on the way to the locker rooms,  clutching her stomach.  Molly patted her consolingly on the back.

“She did twenty,” Molly  said .  Rei's eyebrows shot up and Minako snorted.

“Poor baby,” Minako said  with a  teasing  smile.

They entered the locker room and started to change. When  Rei was in the middle of putting her regular school shirt back  she heard Minako speaking .

“You know, after we're done with all these tests, we should really reward ourselves.”

“ Oooh, I like the sound of that,” Serena said. “What should we do?”

Rei finished changing and watched Minako talking with Serena Ami and Makoto.

“ Well my parents are out of town for a while, so why don't we have a sleepover at my place?” Minako said.

The other girls responded excitedly that they'd love to, but Rei's stomach sank. Surely Minako wouldn't try to get her to go as well. Surely.

Minako turned to her, an annoying smile on her face. “How about it Hino?”

“ I think it's a little early for you to  celebrate. Don't you have a math exam tomorrow?”

“ I prefer to think of it as celebrating the effort, not the results,” Minako said. “Because I don't think I've ever worked harder for some tests than I have for these ones.”

“ It'd be a lot of fun,” Serena added. “It could be a reward for helping us and letting us use your shrine to study.”

Rei was ready to give a hard no, but she was stopped by four pleading faces. She had expected Minako to try to rope her into her idea, but the others jumping in as well was just unfair.

“I'll think about it,” she said.

Minako and Serena cheered and Makoto slapped her on the shoulder.

“ You'll have fun, you'll see.”

As they left the locker room to return to class Rei c ouldn't help but feel that even though she hadn't said yes, everyone had acted as if she had.  And with a groan she realized that they were probably right to o.


	19. Fitness Tests 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the chapters that are already finished. I have an ending and a plan how to get there, but haven't been able to keep myself to a strict schedule with regards to updates, but they will come.   
> Thanks for reading.

At lunch the next  day the other girls finalized plans to meet at Minako's apartment that Saturday.  Rei remained noncommittal throughout the meal, but the other girls didn't seem to mind. When gym class came around the following day the classes were again split and Rei and the rest of the girls were led out to the track where they would go through the short sprint test as well as a  four lap endurance run.  They weren't told to pair up, but during the walk to the track Minako latched onto Rei's arm anyway.

“ So Rei, I was thinking,” she started.

“I'm already worried,” Rei said as she pulled her arm from Minako's grasp. “ And don't call me that.”

“ Fine, fine. Rei-ko,” Minako said with a smile. Rei glared at her  but she only laughed in return. “I think you should join us at my place on Saturday. It's gonna be a lot of fun.”

“ And spend time with someone who doesn't respect my wishes?” Rei asked pointedly.

“ Oh, is Rei-ko no good?” Minako asked  feigning innoncence.

“ No.”

“See, this is why I think you should come. You could afford to loosen up a little,” Minako said.

“ After these tests I'd like a chance to relax, and a party isn't my idea of relaxing,” Rei said.

“ Five friends sleeping over is hardly a party,” Minako said. 

The group made it to the track and teacher had them line up to sprint in pairs. Rei and Minako settled in behind Ami and Serena around the middle of the pack. The teacher took her clipboard and stopwatch down to the fifty meter line and another round of testing began. 

“ Please,” Rei said. “I've had everyone over at the shrine, and if that's how you all act when you're studying I don't want to see how you act when you're not.”

“ You say that like you didn't  have fun ,” Minako said. “You won't admit it to me but I know  that you did.”

Rei pursed her lips. Having the other girls over certainly hadn't been as bad as she had first thought.  There was a lot of slacking off and joking around but surprisingly it hadn't bothered her. There was much more excitement than she was used to dealing with, and for some reason their time together seemed to pass  very quickly.  But  would she call it fun ?  Either way, Minako was right in saying she would never admit to that. When Rei didn't say anything Minako sighed.

“I thought it might come to this,” Minako said. “Let's make it a match.”

“Make what a match?” Rei asked.

“You scored better than me twice last  class , right?”

“Yeah,” Rei said slowly.

“But if I beat you twice today, I'll have three better scores to two.”

“ That's right,” Rei said narrowing her eyes.

“So if I do, you have to come to the sleepover.”

“ That sounds good for you, but what do I get if I win?” Rei  asked.

Minako smirked.

“And it has to be something I would actually want to have,” Rei added.

“ Hm,” Minako tapped her lips with her pointer finger. “Got it. I'll leave you alone for a week.”

“Wow, a whole week,” Rei said sarcastically, though she was surprised that Minako had even offered that amount of time. “Think you'll be able to hold out that long?”

“What, is that not good enough?” Minako asked.

“Two weeks.”

“Ten days.”

“Ten school days,” Rei said.

“That might as well be two weeks,” Minako whined.

“Exactly.”

Minako  sighed dramatically. “You drive a hard bargain”  She stared into the distance as if considering her options . “I guess I'll just have to win.”

Ami and Serena  stepped up to the line and waited for the teacher's signal. When they heard a whistle they  started running \- slowly.  They were close to the end when Serena tripped and rolled past the 50 meter line.  Rei smiled and shook her head-  typical klutzy Serena.  She and Minako stepped up to the starting line.

“You know this means if I win right now that's it,  you lose, ”  Rei said.

Minako glanced at her. “I know,” she said. She didn't sound worried.

Rei took a few deep breaths  to prepare herself and  leaned forward .  She had never pushed herself for the sprint test before, but even if she did she wasn't sure she could beat Minako. The other girl played volleyball, and they probably had some general fitness and conditioning exercises that would help her in their race. 

The teacher's whistle blew and she and Minako were off.  She  pumped her arms and legs as fast as they would go and kept her gaze steady on the finish line in front of her.  It came closer and closer,  twenty meters, fifteen,  ten . Then, out of the corner of her eye, a flash of gold,  just barely in front of her.  Minako's hair was bouncing wildly in front of her. She ran the last few meters knowing Minako had won.  After they slowed and got their times from the teacher Minako  smiled at her triumphantly.

“ Hope you're ready t o have some fun this weekend,” she said. 

Rei frowned. “ This isn't over yet.”

Minako only kept smiling and they met up with Serena, Makoto, Ami, and Molly.  Serena was lamenting  the fact that they had to run  four laps after sprinting.

“ Honestly why can't they just test one thing per class?” she asked the group at large. “ I was aching all over after last class.”

“ That would be a lot of time doing nothing,” Makoto said.

“We're growing girls, we could use the recovery time,” Serena said.

“ And some of us could use the exercise,” Minako said. “We've seen how many sweets you have  with lunch.”

Serena  turned her nose up at Minako . “That's just so I can stay awake during lessons.” 

“ It doesn't seem to help,” Minako laughed.

“ Well I can't help it if the classes are  _ sooo _ boring  that even a sugar boost can't help me stay awake.”

“ I'm sure  _ that' _ _ s _ the reason and not the fact that you stay up too late reading manga and playing games,” Rei said.

Serena gasped. “How did you know? Are you stalking me?”

“ Call it intuition,” Rei said  flatly .

When all the other girls finished their sprints the teacher gathered everyone together. She told them they would be running four laps around the track to test their endurance, and that they should take a cool down lap so they didn't cramp up. The class gathered around the starting line and Rei stuck next to Minako. She didn't want the other girl to gain an early lead, so she knew she would have to keep pace with her. The teacher blew her whistle and they were off again.

It was easy at first. Minako wasn't out to beat everyone- just Rei. By the end of the first lap the class had settled into distinct groups. Rei and Minako were near some athletic girls, including Makoto. Much of the class were behind them, most setting an average pace and some setting a hopeless place. Rei suspected Serena was in the latter group. Ahead of the their group were some girls who Rei suspected were part of the track and field club.

By the end of the second lap the groups had separated further.  Minako didn't look like she was struggling, but Rei wasn't worried. She had to take care of the shrine every day of the week, spending hours on end on her feet often without breaks. She had faith in her endurance. Her only concern was what might happen at the end of the run. She already knew Minako was faster than her; she would have to get some separation before the final lap.

So she tried. She increased her pace, but Minako matched her easily. She pushed herself faster bit by bit, but Minako never fell behind. As they entered their final lap Rei realized that if she went any faster she wouldn't have any energy left if she had to sprint to the finish line. Instead she hugged the inside of the first turn as much as possible, hoping to edge out Minako that way. Minako either couldn't or didn't care to stay side by side and ended up a step behind Rei. She stayed there throughout the next straightaway.

When they got to the final turn Rei stayed tight to the inside of the track. She could hear Minako's footsteps and labored breathing.  The turn ended and she could see the finish line again.  She was ahead of Minako, and if she were lucky then the blonde would be too tired to try and pass her.

Then she heard Minako move. Her footsteps came faster and Rei felt the other girl bump her arm as she tried to pass Rei on the right. Desperately Rei tried to run faster, to make her legs pump harder, but her body refused to cooperate. Her pace stayed the same. She had miscalculated while trying to get ahead of Minako, and had used up all her energy. Minako passed her and started to pull away.

She crossed the finish line a few paces behind the blonde. The teacher shouted their times to them as they slowed to a walk for their cool down lap. Rei gulped down air and held her side, which had developed a stinging pain. She silently cursed Minako for making her care about these stupid tests.

Minako waited a moment for Rei to catch up then turned to her and smiled. Rei took some comfort in the fact that Minako was breathing as heavily as she was.  Neither of them said anything for a while as they recovered from their race.

“ You almost got away at the end,” Minako said eventually. “ I thought your were going to stay ahead after that last turn.”

“ I couldn't,” Rei said,  still a little  out of breath . “I didn't have anything left. I hoped you wouldn't either.”

“ So this means you'll come to the sleepover on Saturday?” Minako asked.

“I said I would. I don't go back on my word.”

“Good,” Minako said. “I really do think you'll have fun.”

“I'm not dreading it,” Rei conceded.

Minako laughed and they continued cooling down.  They watched as Serena and Ami dragged themselves across the finish line, the last girls to do so.  The girls who had been ahead of Rei and Minako were already waiting around the finish line, having finished both the test and their cool down laps after.

“ Hey,”  Minako said suddenly. “ W anna know where I got my extra energy from?”

Rei side-eyed Minako suspiciously. “ D o I ?”

“ You must be a little curious, since we were so close otherwise.”

Rei sighed. “Go ahead, tell me.”

“ It came from my desire to get you into my bed,” Minako said.

Rei groaned. She took her word seriously and rarely gave it, but she wondered if just this once it would be okay to break it. 


	20. Minako's Apartment 1

Late in the afternoon that Saturday Rei dutifully made her way to Minako's house. Minako had given Rei her address and insisted they exchange phone numbers. Rei had allowed it reluctantly. Either Minako knew better or she was lulling Rei into a false sense of security, but either way she hadn't immediately spammed Rei with messages or calls.

Rei reached Minako's exactly at the agreed-upon time. The door opened before she could even knock revealing Serena beaming at her. Rei was unsurprised to see Serena there so early. She and Minako had been so excited at lunch the day before that the teacher scolded them several times. Serena had probably been at Minako's for hours already.

Serena ushered her in with a flurry of words, remarking on Rei's clothes and saying how much fun they were going to have. She led Rei to the kitchen where Minako was standing in the middle of a giant mess. When Minako saw Rei she lit up.

“Rei! Perfect, we could use some help here,” she said.

Rei ignored the casual use of her first name, giving up correcting Minako as a lost cause. Instead she tried to piece together what the two blondes had been doing.

“This looks like a war zone,” she said. There were bits of what was probably onion all over the counter. There was a cutting board with chunks of carrot, none of which were the same size. A vague brown mass sat in a pan on the stove. She took a step into the kitchen and something crunched under her foot. Pieces of egg shell were scattered along the floor. “No, seriously, what happened here?”

“Well we bought some nice meat to grill on the hotplate but we wanted to make a side to go with it,” Serena said.

“So we tried to make fried rice,” Minako added.

“I never cracked an egg before,” Serena said. “I didn't think it'd be so difficult.”

“It shouldn't be,” Rei said.

“Well I didn't know how hard I had to hit it to break it open so I tried a few times and it didn't break then I hit it harder and, well, you can see how _that_ ended up,” Serena said gesturing to the egg shell on the ground.

“Let's start there,” Rei said  slowly . “We can get everything cleaned off the floor and the counters and then deal with whatever  _that_ is,” she said pointing at the pan with the mysterious brown substance.

“ That's the rice,” Minako said.

Rei winced. They had probably added too much liquid and heated it for too long. The rice was probably unsalvageable. The three of them started to clean, making only slow progress thanks to Serena and Minako's general ineptitude. They were almost finished cleaning when Serena perked up.

“Ami and Makoto!” she said pointing out the window. She took off for the front door to let them in. She came back in the middle of telling the other girls what had happened. Ami looked concerned and Makoto was laughing.

“You know I heard some horror stories about you two and Home Ec,” Makoto said.

“They're not all true,” Serena said.

“But I'm sure most are,” Rei said. “You really should have seen this kitchen before we started cleaning.”

“Well!” Minako interrupted. “Now that you two are here, I think we can leave the cooking to the professionals. Me and Serena are gonna set up some games.”

“You guys can help them,” Makoto said to Ami and Rei. “I'll handle the cooking.”

Rei followed the other girls to the living room. Minako set out a few different games and she and Serena tried to decide what to play first. There were several board games as well as a deck of cards to choose from. Minako complicated the issue when she mentioned the party games she had for her game system. They were still considering what to play when Makoto came out with serving bowls full of fried rice and grilled vegetables. Minako rushed to the kitchen to retrieve the hotplate and the meat, and when she returned everyone sat around the coffee table and dug in.

While they ate they talked. They commiserated over the stress of the past week. They joked about their possible test results. Minako and Serena argued over which of them would have the worst scores. Ami wondered who would have the best and everyone promptly informed her that she would. The meat Minako and Serena had bought was delicious and the sides Makoto prepared were cooked to perfection.

After the food was gone they returned to picking a game. They started with some simple card games before trying some of the more intricate games. Rei was enjoying herself much more than she thought she would. The games were obviously fun, but the atmosphere surrounding the five of them felt warm and natural. These girls were friendly, funny, and engaging. Rei wondered if she had ever enjoyed herself as much as she was that night.

Minako caught her eye and gave her a triumphant look. She knew that Rei was, indeed, having fun, but for once Rei didn't mind that the blonde had bested her. She recalled Minako's words from their first study session at Rei's shrine, where she had said that the other girls were special. In that moment Rei was incredibly thankful that she had given these girls a chance- even Minako.

As midnight approached they spent more time chatting than playing. At one point Rei noticed that no one had taken a turn for a few minutes, but she didn't say anything, content to enjoy the conversation. It wasn't until Serena noticed that they had stopped playing that Minako called for them to pack up the game.

“I've got another game we can try,” she said as she darted off to the kitchen. When she returned she had a bottle of beer in hand.

Rei was surprised. “Alcohol?” she asked. “Is that a good idea?”

“Just one, for the game I want to play. It's traditional to use a beer bottle.”

“Wait, what game needs a bottle of beer?” Makoto asked.

“Spin the bottle,” Minako said with a grin. Rei glared at Minako. She could guess why the other girl wanted to play, considering her favorite pastime was teasing Rei.

Serena 'ooh'ed' and glanced around the table. “This'll be fun,” she said.

“Wait, is this- are we really gonna play?” Makoto asked. She looked at Ami and Rei. “Is everyone alright with that?”

Rei was a little surprised when Ami nodded, but she shrugged and nodded as well. She wouldn't back down from Minako, even if the stakes were higher than normal.

“So,” Minako said uncapping the bottle, “who wants a taste?”

“I'm curious,” Serena said. “I mean, adults seem to love drinking alcohol.”

Makoto frowned. “Since it's only a little,” she said, “and we haven't had any before.”

“Still, maybe it's not a good idea,” Ami said, hands nervously clasped. “Aren't we a little young?”

“Oh come on, Ami,” Serena said, throwing an arm over the other girl's shoulders. “This is what being young is all about. Trying new things, especially when we're not supposed to!”

“But if she doesn't want to that's no problem, right?” Rei asked pointedly.

“Naturally,” Minako said easily. “And you?”

Rei considered for a few moments. She probably shouldn't, considering her position as a miko. Drinking underage had a slew of problems, some legal and some moral. But she was a little curious, and Minako was giving her that challenging look she knew so well.

“Just to see what it's like,” she said.

Serena went first. She took the bottle and quickly threw it back, taking a big gulp. She immediately started coughing, getting some of the beer on the table.

“That's gross, how can people drink that stuff?” she asked.

“Usually not all at once,” Minako said. “Try it like this.”

She took the bottle back and tried a much smaller sip. Her face still pulled back in a grimace. “So the taste isn't great, but it's manageable.”

“A ringing endorsement,” Rei said. “I'll try it next.”

Minako handed her the bottle and Rei eyed it with trepidation. Minako and Serena hadn't made it seem appealing, but a lot of people seemed to enjoy drinking it. Though maybe they only enjoyed the effects. Rei took a breath and brought the bottle to her lips. The taste was odd. There was a hint of wheat and then a sharp, bitter taste made her grimace much as Minako had. That settled it- people only drank it for its effects.

“Well, who's next?” she asked.

Makoto raised her hand and took the bottle from Rei. She tried it and passed it to Ami, and both of them agreed that beer must be an acquired taste. The bottled was passed around a couple of more times before Ami finished the last few drops.

“Well, I don't think I'll have that again any time soon,” Serena said.

“Same,” Minako said, “but now we have an empty bottle. So, who wants a spin?”

Serena threw her arm up excitedly. Minako put the bottle on the table in the middle of the grou and everyone glanced at each other. An odd tension filled the air. Serena grabbed the bottle and spun it. Everyone watched in anticipation while it spun, then as it began to slow. It finally settled on Ami, who squeaked. Serena jumped up and rushed around the table, causing Ami to shink back a little under the intensity of her excitement. Minako and Makoto leaned in excitedly, eager to watch. Rei held her breath.

“So, um, how does this work?” Ami asked.

“Like this,” Serena said, and she leaned in and pecked Ami quickly on the lips. Makoto whooped and Minako wolf-whistled. Ami blushed and laughed airily. Rei shook her head. Leave it to Serena to cut through a tense moment so easily.

It was Ami's turn next. She spun the bottle and everyone watched it again. Rei wondered how she should react if it landed on her. A quick kiss didn't seem like a big deal, but at the same time she had never kissed anyone outside of her family in any fashion. This would be a brand new experience.

Then the bottle stopped moving, open top pointing to Minako. Minako grinned and leaned towards Ami, elbows on the table.

“Lay one on me,” she said.

Ami looked more nervous than when Serena was about to kiss her. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said.

She moved slowly, eyes wide and blinking. Minako continued to smile at her as she moved in. When their lips met Ami pulled back almost immediately, her cheeks bright red.

“Not bad,” Minako said still smiling. “Now let's see who I get.”

She shot a devious look at Rei. She quickly grabbed the bottle and spun it, and Rei tensed up again. Ami was one thing, but if Minako's spin landed on her what would the other girl do? Rei could guess from the look in her eyes.

Then the bottle stopped on Makoto.

“Do you want to spin again?” Makoto laughed.

“I don't think that's how the game goes,” Rei said flatly.

Minako moved next to Makoto and grabbed her hands. “Close your eyes,” she said.

Makoto did and Minako moved in. She tilted her head to the side, closed her own eyes, and pressed a firm kiss to Makoto's lips. It was longer than Serena's and Ami's kisses had been. When Minako pulled away Makoto opened her eyes again.

“That was almost a real kiss,” she laughed nervously. Her eyes darted to Rei and Ami, seemingly unsure where to look.

“Since we're playing why have fun,” Minako said. She returned to her spot at the table. “Your turn.”

Makoto's spin landed on Ami.

“Me again!?”

“Let's see it,” Minako said gleefully. “Give her one like I gave you.”

Makoto laughed nervously and turned to Ami beside her. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said.

Ami squeezed her eyes shut and seemed to be holding her breath. Makoto grabbed her shoulder and turned her so they were facing each other square on. Then she leaned down and kissed the shorter girl. When she pulled away both girls avoided each others' eyes.

“Man, this is even more embarrassing than I thought it would be,” Makoto said. “I guess it's your turn to spin.”

Ami went again and this time the bottle pointed at Rei. She waited while Ami made her way over. Ami looked more nervous than Rei felt, which was odd considering she had taken part in this game twice already.

“Well, here I go,” she said and leaned in slowly.

Rei wasn't sure if she was supposed to close her eyes or not, so she settled on leaving them open- she didn't want their faces to crash together. Ami came closer and closer and Rei involuntarily retreated for a moment. She steeled herself and instead moved forward to meet Ami halfway.

It was a strange feeling, having her lips meet someone else's. She couldn't say it felt good. She couldn't say it felt bad either. Then Ami pulled away. Rei blinked.

That was it? In everything she had seen and read kissing was special. It was supposed to be a romantic gesture or an expression of desire. Rei had only felt a slight pressure on her lips and Ami's breath on her face. But then, they were only kissing because of the rules of a game Minako wanted them all to play.

Rei was shaken from her thoughts by Minako.

“Alright Rei, let's see who you get,” Minako said. When Rei looked at her she winked.

“Right,” Rei said. She reached for the bottle slowly. Would it be different with someone else? Would it feel like more than a simple physical act? Would it be special if it was… someone else? Before she could spin a snore cut through the air and Rei startled back.

All eyes turned to Serena, whose head was slumped forward. As they watched her shoulders rise and fall another snore came from her. The four of them looked at each other completely bewildered, then they started to laugh. Their laughter woke Serena, who sat up and tried to pretend she hadn't been sleeping.

“Maybe that's a sign we should turn in,” Makoto said.

“No, no, it's fine,” Serena said thickly.

“It _is_ quite late,” Ami said. “I'm not used to being awake at this hour.”

Minako checked her phone. “Twelve thirty is awfully late,” she said teasingly. “But maybe you're right. There's a place that does a nice breakfast I thought we could check out, so we shouldn't sleep in too late.”

“Mmmm, breakfast,” Serena said, head drooping again.

“Can you guys take her to my bedroom down the hall?” Minako asked. “I've got a couple futons and blankets laid out for everyone to share. I'll clean up in here.”

Makoto guided Serena to her feet and led her away with Ami in tow. Rei hesitated. The other two seemed like they could handle Serena.

“I'll help in here,” she said.

She and Minako picked up dishes and glasses and pieces from the various games the played. The last thing to clean was the bottle they used for spin the bottle. Rei picked it up. She was sure that Minako had wanted to fluster Rei by making them kiss. But if her kiss with Ami was anything to go by kisses just weren't very appealing. There was nothing special about them. Even Minako would struggle to make Rei feel anything with a kiss. She looked at Minako. In Rei's experience the other girl had a penchant for being exceptional.

“Want me to take that?” Minako asked.

Rei blinked. “I didn't get a chance to spin,” she said slowly.

“Ah, I guess not,” Minako said. She waited a moment as if considering her words. “Maybe next time?”

“Or,” Rei said as she set the bottle back on the table. She spun it. Minako was transfixed by the spinning glass, expression blank. Rei dropped her eyes to it as well. It slowed to a halt pointing off to Minako's left.

“Ah,” Rei started. “Well, you're closest.”

“Are you sure?”

The question hung in the air for several long moments. Rei didn't know if Minako was giving her an out or daring her to continue.

“I'm sure.”

“Alright.” Minako moved slowly, stepping around the table and approaching Rei like one would a small animal. When Minako stopped she was so close she filled Rei's vision. As small as it was, the gap between them, the distance Rei would have to cross to… to kiss her looked insurmountable.

“Right,” Rei said, trying to steel herself. “Here I go.”

“Right,” Minako breathed. Her eyes closed with a flutter.

Rei inched forward. She tilted her head and closed her eyes. Her lips pressed against Minako's. She could feel Minako pressing back.

A few moments passed and Rei pulled back. She and Minako were both breathing quickly. Minako opened her eyes and considered her for a moment.

“So? What did you think?”

“Nothing- nothing special,” Rei said. She was mostly telling the truth. Certainly the physical sensations had been the same as the kiss she shared with Ami. But something about Minako left her feeling unsteady.

“Well,” Minako said, a familiar glint appearing in her eye. “We could try something a little more special.”

Rei's breath caught in her throat. “Oh.” A thousand thoughts flashed through her head but she couldn't make sense of any of them. “We could.”

“Do… do you want to?”

Another moment passed. Rei was tense, and she felt as if everything around her were sharp. The sound of Minako's breathing, the bright blue eyes boring into her own, the tingling sensation on her lips grabbed all of her attention.

“Just to see what it's like,” she said.

Minako nodded. She moved closer and Rei stayed still. Rei felt a tentative hand at her side and watched Minako's other come up to caress her cheek. Her own hands seemed to move on their own, mimicking Minako's and grabbing the other girl's waist.

Minako's lips touched hers, pressed in, separated them. Her hand slid from Rei's cheek to her neck, her thumb moving to stroke Rei's jaw. Her tongue did the same to Rei's lips. Slowly Minako deepened the kiss until her tongue moved against Rei's, and Rei struggled to breath. Her hands gripped Minako's shirt tightly. It was all so new, so intense, and not what Rei expected. It was more, much more, and she had not been ready for it. She needed to ground herself.

She unclenched her hands to look for something solid. They slipped them under Minako's shirt, feeling the other girl directly. Her skin was hot and Rei's thumb rubbed over Minako's hip bone. She grabbed and held on for dear life. Minako let out a low noise, something between a moan and a growl. She pressed her body to Rei's, and Rei didn't realize she was moving backwards until her back hit the wall.

Then it ended. Minako pulled back, only far enough that they were still breathing each other's air. Their hands stayed where they were, keeping them close.

“How was that?” Minako asked. Her face was red, her breathing heavy, her lips plump. Rei was sure she looked the same.

Her voice was rough and low and Rei shivered. She didn't know how to answer the question. It had been so intense, like nothing she had ever felt before. Minako's tongue in her mouth had been alive, exploring and caressing. Her whole body felt hot- or maybe it was Minako's, considering everywhere the other girl touched burned.

“Good.” The word slipped out. At least her penchant for understatement prevented her from saying anything embarrassing. Minako smirked and Rei pulled her hands back. She could still feel the texture of Minako's hip, the heat from her side, her fingers pressing into the softness of Minako's-

“We should turn in too,” Minako said. Rie nodded, not trusting her voice.

They went to Minako's room. Serena was already asleep and Ami and Makoto were most of the way there, barely acknowledging them when they entered. They changed into their pajamas and joined the others on the futons. Between her buzzing thoughts and racing heart Rei knew she was in for a long night.


	21. Softball 1

The next day seemed to go by slowly. They did eat at the restaurant Minako suggested and afterwards everyone went their separate ways. When Rei returned to the shrine she dressed and set about her work, but nothing seemed to get done. She'd start a chore then blink and find herself just staring at a washcloth or a broom or a rake instead of actually using them. Only one thing was on her mind.

Kissing Minako had been so intense. It was like her entire body had been on fire, and even a day afterwards just thinking about it left her feeling warm. It was nothing like the ones shared between the other girls. Then again, their relationship was different as well.

The burning question on her mind was what the kiss meant. It had been more in line with what kisses were shown to be in manga and dramas. It certainly left her feeling more than the quick peck Ami had given her. So was there some deeper meaning to their kiss? Was it just a case of Minako pushing boundaries again? Thinking back on it she couldn't even say why she had spun that bottle. Minako had seemed content to let the game end despite the fact that Rei was about to have a turn. No answers came to her while she tended to the shrine grounds.

Rei was no closer to resolving her thoughts into any semblance of order after school the following day. If anything she was more confused. The other girls seemed unfazed by the game of spin the bottle, eating lunch together and chatting about nothing as they always did. Minako didn't say anything about their kiss either. She acted as she always did towards Rei, teasing and bothering her whenever she could. Maybe the kiss had been an extension of their competitive natures and Rei was looking for meaning that wasn't there.

The second day after the party saw the girls in gym again. They would be playing softball, one of the few games Rei had enjoyed before Minako transferred. She usually took right field since few balls were hit that way. She could relax and enjoy the breeze and sunshine without much worry of having to participate. She was looking forward to taking advantage of that position again so she could try to forget all of her questions and think of nothing at all.

She ended up on a team with Minako and Ami. Their team was in the field first and Rei made her way to her normal spot. Minako took second place, directly in front of Rei. She frowned. It would be hard not to think of anything when the girl who was on her mind was directly in front of her. Then Minako turned to her and blew her a kiss and Rei almost choked on her own tongue. Of course the first reference the other girl made to their kiss would be used to tease Rei. Minako certainly hadn't changed her behavior.

It took Rei a few moments to realize that _something_ had changed. When Minako had first started messing with her she had responded with anger and frustration. She thought of their encounters as competitions that she had to win, and if she did win then Minako would stop. But when Minako teased her with that blown kiss she didn't feel anger. She didn't even think about trying to stop Minako. She already knew that she would try to fluster the blonde in return. That was normal. That was part of her new routine.

That new routine also included Serena and Ami and Makoto. She talked to them during classes and lunches and had even met up with them outside of school. She knew that when the opportunity came again she would cave in and they would all gather at her shrine to spend some of their time studying and most of their time just being together. The Rei from before Minako would never have imagined not only spending time with classmates outside of school, but even enjoying that time.

That begged the question of what the other girls even were to Rei. They surely were more than classmates. Would she say they were friends? Could she? Was she friends with Minako? What did it even take for someone to be considered a friend? If Serena, Ami, and Makoto were her friends but she felt her relationship with Minako was different, what did that make Minako?

Her rumination was interrupted by Minako calling her in. Apparently they had gotten the other team out three times and it was their turn to bat. She followed Minako to the bench to await their turns at the plate. Rei's self-reflection made her aware that she naturally followed Minako and sat next to her and Ami without any thought of sitting anywhere else. Then she was struck by the surreal realization that she had kissed both girls at the sleepover. She tried to ignore it and act natural.

They were told to bat in boy-girl order, and one of the boys volunteered to bat first. Minako volunteered to go second and the other girls were happy to let her. She got up and went to the on-deck circle to take a few practice swings.

“Did you have fun at the sleepover?” Ami asked.

“More than I thought I would,” Rei said, again suddenly aware that before Minako she and Ami had never said a word to each other.

“To be honest me too,” Ami said. “You know I'd never been to a sleepover before.”

“Same,” Rei said. She had never seen Ami hanging out with anyone before Minako, Serena, and Makoto had interrupted her lunch one day. Ami was renowned for her high grades and hard work, but that left little time to make friends. She may have never had one. It occurred to Rei that the two of them were somewhat similar.

“I don't think either of us ever expected to,” Rei said.

“No, I suppose not,” Ami said.

There was a cheer from their teammates as the first batter got a hit and ran to first. Minako stepped up to the plate.

“What did you think of the others when you first talked to them?” Rei asked.

Ami blinked at her, perhaps thrown off by the question. “Well I was surprised. One day in gym Serena started talking to me out of nowhere and the next day she invited me to have lunch with her and Makoto and Minako. I thought it was a prank at first, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I didn't think that someone as popular as Serena would have a reason to talk to me, let alone want to spend time with me.”

“But you accepted the invitation,” Rei prompted.

“Something about Serena seemed so… genuine. I don't think she would hurt someone, not intentionally,” Ami said.

Rei could appreciate that. In the time she had spent around Serena the other girl had been loud, boisterous, and annoying. But she had a disarming charm in her excitability, sincerity, and innocence. For all her faults, she struck Rei as the type of person to go to any lengths to help her friends.

“And Mako and Minako are nice too. Mako is so thoughtful, and she has a surprisingly girly side that she tries to hide. It's cute,” Ami said. “Although, maybe you're more interested in what I think of Minako.”

Rei pursed her lips. Maybe trying to be subtle with the smartest kid in school hadn't been a good idea. “I wouldn't say more interested,” she said.

A collective groan sounded around them. Rei looked to the batter's box and saw Minako walking away dejectedly. She must have struck out.

“For what it's worth, she may be a little mischievous, but I think her heart is in the right place,” Ami said before Minako returned to the bench. When she did she plopped down heavily between Rei and Ami.

Minako grumbled about her failed plate appearance and Ami humored her by patting her on the back. Rei remained unsympathetic, saying that she had to accept the results of her own efforts. Minako stuck her tongue out at Rei in return.

Their team got out two more times and had to take the field again, and again Rei found herself staring at Minako's back. Minako was eternally frustrating. She turned everything with Rei into either a competition or a tease. She toyed with Rei easily, casually.

Rei was also aware of her own part in their relationship. She rose to every challenge Minako threw at her and returned every tease with a smart remark of her own. Worst of all she knew that she could end their cat-and-mouse game. When she had tried ignoring Minako the other girl had pulled back as well. But that hadn't sat well with Rei. She was too stubborn and competitive to let Minako have the last word. Maybe she and Minako were similar too.

Then Rei thought about Ami's words. Was Minako's heart in the right place? Rei frowned as she remembered that first study session at her shrine. Minako had told Rei about her childhood and her parents. She had laid her past bare because she didn't want Rei to be alone anymore and Rei saw how closely Minako's pain reflected her own. She had looked so vulnerable. It was a look Rei never wanted to see on Minako again.

When class ended Rei was no closer to defining what Minako was to her. Maybe she didn't have the right words to do so. Maybe she didn't want to admit that she enjoyed Minako even with all of her provocations. Maybe she was thinking too deeply into their situation. But Rei knew that Minako was a part of her life now, and she was okay with that.


	22. Chapter 22

Midterm results came back on the day of their next PE class. At lunch they shared their results. Rei and Makoto did as well as they usually did and Ami naturally aced everything. Even Minako and Serena passed everything. Rei feigned surprise when Minako and Serena shared their results and Minako tossed a piece of broccoli at her.

“I can't believe I don't have to take any retests or anything. I think this is the first time I won't have to take one,” Serena said happily.

“Amazing what studying well can do for you,” Rei said with a touch of sarcasm.

“I know,” Serena said. “I'll have so much free time now.”

“Until finals come around,” Rei said.

Serena looked affronted. “Why would you say that?”

Minako shook her head and patted Serena consolingly on the back. She mock-glared at Rei. “Can't you let us enjoy our success without bringing us down?” she asked.

“No.”

“Finals don't have to be a negative thing. If you start studying now and do it a little bit every day then you won't have to worry about finals either,” Ami pointed out. Serena and Minako blinked at her.

“Why would we do that when we could just panic study the week before?” Minako asked.

“That's what we did for midterms and we passed everything,” Serena said.

“You know you had some help with that?” Makoto asked.

“And we can count on your help again,” Serena said. She clasped her hands in front of her and put on her best pout. “Right?”

Ami laughed. “Of course, but wouldn't you feel better if you didn't have to panic at all?”

“That's a problem for future me,” Serena said. Minako nodded in agreement.

“Then make sure future you doesn't complain to us about past you,” Makoto said.

“You know they will anyway,” Rei said. “I think it's their favorite thing to do.”

“Then we're all on the same page,” Minako said brightly. “Me and Serena will procrastinate then you guys will help us out.”

“Sometimes I wonder why we put up with you,” Makoto said laughing and shaking her head.

“Because you love us,” Minako said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Serena nodded along enthusiastically.

Rei leveled a studying look at Minako. “You know I'd've thought you'd be excited for an excuse to invade my shrine again,” she said.

“Invade your shrine, huh? Is that a euphemism?” Minako asked with a smirk. Makoto almost choked on her food but Rei only rolled her eyes. “But that's actually a pretty good point. Maybe we _should_ look into getting together to study. Maybe we can do it every week.”

“You sure you can study that much without your brains falling out?” Rei asked.

“Depends on the subject,” Minako said her eyes traveling down and back up Rei's body. Rei stuck her tongue out at Minako when their eyes met again.

“And if we need to take a break from studying I know just the place we can go instead,” Serena said.

“Oh? Where's that?” Ami asked.

“There's this arcade I've been going to recently that is so. Much. Fun!” Serena said.

“I've never been to an arcade before,” Ami said. Serena gasped.

“ Then we absolutely have to go,” she said. “This one is great, it's called Game Center Crown and it has everything, fighting games, racing games, ball games, dancing games, music games, old games, new games, picture booths, prizes-”

“Take a breath Serena,” Minako said laughing, “we get the point.

“And t here's a cafe right above it too,”  Serena finished.

The bell ending lunch interrupted their conversation. They packed up and headed to PE where they were supposed to play softball again. However rain kept them inside, so the teacher shrugged and scattered a bunch of different equipment on the ground of the gym and declared a free day. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they were up and moving. Minako snatched a volleyball and Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Serena joined her to one side of the gym. They formed a circle and tried to keep the ball in the air for as many hits as they could.

“If we're getting together every week what would be a good day for everyone?” Minako asked as she passed the ball to Ami. “Me and Mako have volleyball practice most days after school, and sometimes we have games on Saturdays. Would Sunday work for everyone?”

“I only have cram school on Saturday afternoons, so Sunday works for me” Ami said. She hit the ball up towards Makoto.

“Serena?” Minako asked. Makoto gently floated the ball to Rei.

“Usually I sleep in and catch up on anime Sundays,” Serena said. Rei hit the ball towards Serena. The ball sailed past the blonde who hadn't been paying attention.

Makoto laughed as Serena chased it down. “I can't tell if that means you're busy or you're free. Knowing you, that's a busy day.”

Serena cradled the ball as she returned to their circle. She sniffed in Makoto's direction. “How rude. Maybe you don't want me there at all,” she said haughtily.

“Of course we want you there,” Ami said smiling.

“Yeah, who else would make sure we take breaks when we need to?” Minako said.

“And sometimes when we don't,” Rei added. Serena stuck her tongue out at Rei forgetting the airs she had put on.

“Well we're all in,” Minako said. “How about you Rei?

Everyone looked expectantly at Rei.

“I never should have opened my mouth about the shrine. We're busier Sunday mornings but I can probably be free in the afternoon,” she said.

Minako clapped her hands together. “It's settled then.  We'll  meet at Rei's shrine on Sundays to hang out.”

“ You mean to study?” Rei prompted.

Minako stared at her blankly.

“What about the Crown?” Serena asked.

“Of course, sometimes we'll go to Serena's arcade,” Minako said. Rei sighed.

“I think you've actually broken her,” Makoto said looking at Rei.

“Oh she's just being dramatic, she secretly enjoys hanging out with us,” Minako said.

“ I've just learned to pick my battles,” Rei said.

“Speaking of battles, our playoffs are starting in a couple of weeks and we have a volleyball here,” Minako said. She took the ball from Serena. “Would you guys mind help us practice for a bit?”

“You think playing against us will help? How bad are the other teams?” Rei asked.

“You don't have to be good to help, though I remember you seemed to have a knack for volleyball,” Minako said.

Rei shook her head. “So what do we have to do?”

“You guys can take turns throwing this up at me, and I can practice setting Mako up for a spike,” Minako said. She tossed the ball to Rei.

Rei caught it and arched an eyebrow at Minako. “'Throwing it at you' you say?”

Minako held her hands up in front of her and laughed nervously. “Did I say at? I meant to. Or near. Around?”

Rei smirked. “Alright. Here I go.”

They spent the rest of class drilling Minako and Makoto. Rei was impressed at Minako's ability to gauge where the ball was going and react quickly enough to be in the perfect position to redirect it. It didn't matter who threw it or how they did, Minako didn't let a single throw hit the ground. Makoto also seemed to know exactly where to be to best take advantage of Minako's setups. She would take a few long steps and leap into the air to meet the ball at the perfect height for a spike, though they decided she shouldn't actually swing as they had only a corner of the gym to practice in. Rei could tell that both girls took their sport seriously and played at a high level.

Class ended and the girls returned to the locker room. While they changed Serena babbled about how cool Minako and Makoto were.

“You guys look so cool when you're playing, and the way you work together is so amazing, I can't believe it,” she said. “Is it always like that, even in your games?”

Makoto laughed. “Well the other team hits the ball a little faster than you guys were throwing it, but I guess the concept is the same.”

“It's much cooler when we can pull of a great spike against a good team,” Minako said.

“Oh, now I want to see you guys in a real game,” Serena said. “When's your next one?”

“This Friday,” Minako said.

“I'll be there,” Serena said. “Ami, Rei, you guys should come to.”

“Do you have cram school?” Makoto asked Ami.

“Not on Friday, and I'd love to see the two of you play,” Ami said.

“Sorry,” Rei said, “but since my grandfather is alone at the shrine on weekdays there's a lot to do when I get back. I won't be able to make it.”

Serena pouted. “Could you can make a weekend game?”

Rei hesitated and Minako cut in. “When the playoffs start games take place only on weekends, and those are our important games. I know I'd like to see you there.”

“You'd like to see me anywhere,” Rei said. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go to a game. She had seen Minako play volleyball already, and while it was impressive, Rei didn't know what else she would get out of the experience. Besides, she had just committed to spending Sundays with Minako and the others, she wasn't sure how she would handle even more. She sighed.

“I guess, if it's so important to you,” she said.

Serena cheered and Minako grinned at her. Makoto and Ami were pleased to hear she would attend a game as well. Rei shook her head. She couldn't lie to herself anymore. She had to accept that she really did enjoy spending time with everyone.


	23. Game Center Crown

That Saturday the five girls met at Game Center Crown. The interior was a mix of light and dark. The floor was mostly a deep blue with an odd pattern that was hard to look at and the overhead lighting was dim. But everywhere she looked Rei saw bright flashes of different colored lights coming from the many games around her, each one trying to draw people in. Serena had been telling the truth; Crown seemed to have every style of game imaginable.

The noise was another matter. There wasn't any ambient music in the arcade itself, but every step brought a new soundscape of music from tinny speakers and shouts from players as they won and lost. It was constant and ever-changing, and Rei was sure it would wear on her sanity.

Serena's voice cut through the din. “Here, you guys can use this machine to get a card for the games. Just put some money in and it'll give you one.”

They did just that and they were off, with Serena pulling them to all of her favorite games. She started with some side-scrolling video game and everyone tried to see how far they could get. The protagonist was named Sailor V, a blonde teen-aged girl with a red bow and blue eyes. Rei tried to ignore the similarities the character had with Minako when she played. She didn't get very far, but Minako and Serena both did well, with Serena getting farther with her extensive experience at the arcade.

Next Serena dragged them to skee-ball. Rei took a lane and Minako settled in next to her. Rei gave her a challenging look that Minako returned. They all swiped their cards and the lanes lit up. A set of rubber balls dropped down a channel in the side of the machine and everyone rolled them up the center lane. Try as she might Rei couldn't seem to find any consistency. Every ball seemed to take a different path which all terminated in the lowest hole worth the fewest points. She spared a glance at Minako and clenched her jaw. The blonde had twice her score. When everyone threw all of their balls Minako looked at Rei's score and laughed.

“Next round is mine,” Rei said.

“Bring it on,” Minako fired back.

“Ooh, my bet is on Minako,” Serena said.

“Mine too,” Ami said.

“I don't know, Rei can get pretty fired up when she wants to,” Makoto said.

Rei and Minako swiped their cards again and started to play, while the others forewent joining in to watch. Despite her best efforts Rei could not get a handle on where the balls went and she ended up losing again. She was about to challenge Minako again when Makoto stepped in.

“Maybe you can get your revenge on another game,” she said laughing. Minako shot her a triumphant look and Rei growled.

They moved through the arcade playing whatever games caught their attention. They played some sport-themed games, shooting basketballs through an oddly shaped hoop, kicking a soccer ball against a screen while avoiding a virtual goalie, and balancing on a snowboard-shaped platform as a virtual character careened down a mountain. They tried a boxing themed game where they took turns hitting a small punching bag as hard as they could to see who could score highest. Makoto took that honor.

They tried other games as well. There was a game with buttons on a wall that lit up at random and gave points if the player pressed them before they shut off again. There played a racing game and a classic fighting game, both of which saw Rei lose miserably. Serena and Minako continued to do well, showcasing their experience with video games.

Serena spotted a dancing game that tracked players' hands and feet and scored them based on how well they followed the figure on the screen. She pulled everyone over to it but only Minako agreed to play. They stepped up to the console and chose a song. Rei didn't recognize the song or the dance moves but Serena and Minako both seemed to have them down pat.

They both danced enthusiastically but the quality of their moves differed greatly. Serena was clumsy and wild, following the screen well enough but seeming to flail as she did. Minako was controlled and crisp. She looked natural dancing along to the upbeat song, moving her hips perfectly in time with the beat. She was mesmerizing. One of the moves made Minako and Serena turn to face her and Minako caught her eye. She gave her a look as if she could read Rei's mind and Rei felt a blush creep up her neck. The song ended and the two blondes bounced back to the rest of them.

“You guys enjoy the show?” Minako asked, though she was looking directly at Rei.

Makoto and Ami expressed how impressed they were with Serena and Minako but Rei stayed silent. She didn't want to give Minako the satisfaction of an answer. Minako seemed fine with her own teasing remark and didn't push Rei for an answer and the five of them kept moving.

As they walked around and tried new games the game center filled with more people. The increase in people meant fewer open games to try. When Minako spotted an air hockey table she started towards it, it was claimed by another group before she took two steps. Ami raised the idea of trying out the cafe as a reprieve from the crowds and a recharge of their expended energy.

On their way there Minako spotted a machine with half-decomposed zombies painted on the sides and rear. There were curtains on either side that were pulled back, showing an empty compartment with two built-in seats. Plastic guns in holsters were tethered to the seats and a big screen previewed the game, which featured a lot of blood and gore.

“It's empty!” Minako said. “I love these kinds of games. Anyone want to play before we go to the cafe?”

“Last time I tried one of these the way the screen moved made me queasy,” Serena said.

“The… content doesn't look enjoyable to me,” Ami said, looking pale.

“Especially before eating,” Makoto added.

“How about it,” Minako said to Rei.

Rei sighed. She had seen that coming. “Fine, but only if you treat me to something at the cafe later.”

“Well if you guys are gonna play this we'll check out another game and we can head to the cafe after,” Serena said.

Minako waved the others on and pushed Rei into the compartment. She slipped to the other side of the machine and joined Rei inside.

They swiped their cards and picked up the plastic guns from their holsters. The game started in the hall of a mansion with several zombies moving slowly toward them. Rei and Minako dispatched them quickly and the game moved deeper into the house. Zombies came faster and faster, bursting from side rooms and the floor to attack them. Minako reacted freely to the sudden intrusions, screaming and laughing and blasting away with the plastic gun. Her strategy seemed to be quantity over quality, emptying her gun and reloading it as quickly as possible. Rei was more controlled in her approach, taking zombies down quickly with head shots.

They made it through one level fairly easily. Rei was enjoying herself more than she thought she would. There wasn't much to the game- they could only shoot and collect the occasional power-up- but something about the game was compelling. Maybe it was the quick way the game moved forward, never allowing them to grow bored. Or maybe it was the way the zombies' heads exploded with a well placed shot. A glance at Minako confirmed the other girl was having fun as well.

Partway through the second level they began to struggle. The hordes grew larger and came faster, and they were each hit a few times. Health was hard to find, and eventually a large horde struck and first Minako then Rei succumbed to the sheer number of zombies. Their characters died and a countdown appeared on the screen while the game asked if they wanted to purchase another life. They looked at each other.

“We have to beat this level at least, right?” Minako asked.

“We can't let it end like that,” Rei answered.

They each bought a new life and continued blasting zombies. Rei told Minako to focus on any big enemies with her quick trigger finger and that she would focus on the small ones. With their new strategy they made it to the level boss. It was a harrowing fight with debris and zombies flying at the screen. There were small fast flying enemies as well as a gigantic zombie with a long health bar.

Rei and Minako persevered, yelling warnings to each other and covering the other when one had to reload. With a final flurry of shots the boss fell and the two collapsed back into their seats. The game played a cutscene showing their characters leaving the mansion and traveling to a new location. They looked at each other again. Minako raised an eyebrow and Rei nodded. They raised their guns as the next level began.

Fifteen minutes later they exited the game laughing.

“I can't believe we made it,” Minako said.

“Especially with your accuracy,” Rei teased.

“Hey, accuracy didn't mean anything for that final boss. Who did the most damage to him again?” Minako countered.

Rei was about to respond when she spotted the air hockey table they wanted to play earlier. It was empty and no one was headed towards it.

“Minako look,” she said, pointing to the table.

Minako looked not at the table but at Rei. “You just used my given name, didn't you?”

Rei balked. She hadn't realized she had used Minako's name. “I'm sure I've used it before, it's nothing special,” she said.

“But it's so rare to hear. I like when you use it,” Minako said, her tone teasing.

“Well it just slipped out. Don't get used to it,” Rei said.

Minako pouted at her. “That sounds so lonely.”

“Someone has to keep your ego in check,” Rei said.

“How could you say that after I saved your life in that mansion,” Minako said.

“I distinctly remember taking out a mob _you_ couldn't handle, _Aino_.”

“That just means we have each other's backs.”

Rei opened her mouth and closed it again, then frowned.

Minako smirked at her. “Got nothing?”

“Well it was just a game,” Rei said.

“So if a group of zombies attacked me now you'd let them take me?” Minako asked.

Rei pursed her lips to think. “Well you can be pretty annoying,” she said.

Minako gasped and held a hand to her chest. “Me? Annoying? Never.”

Rei snorted. “Tell you what, beat me in air hockey and I'll call you whatever you want.”

Minako perked up. “Really?”

“If you keep your mind out of the gutter.”

Minako's tongue poked out from between her lips. “Let's do it.”

They rushed to the air hockey table to claim it and Minako swiped her card. She spared a glance to Rei then dropped the puck and smacked it at Rei's goal. What followed was an intense match, both of them entirely focused on the game. Rei was unsurprised considering the stakes she had raised. She knew that Minako would bring her A-game, but was confident in her own abilities.

Still there was a fair amount of back and fourth. Minako managed to match every goal Rei scored. Where Rei could place her shots well and slip shots just past Minako's guard, Minako smacked the puck as hard as she could, sending it careening wildly around the table in unpredictable ways. Ultimately the timer decided the game, hitting zero while Rei had the lead. Minako groaned and Rei pumped a fist in victory.

“Rematch,” Minako yelled.

Rei considered her for a moment then smirked. “I'd rather call you whatever _I_ want to. And I can think of some appropriate names for you.”

Rei pulled away from the table to allow other people to play if they wanted.  Minako  followed dejectedly , pouting  as she walked .

“ I only ask that you not be too mean,” Minako said.

“I refuse,” Rei said  immediately .

A laugh broke through Minako's act. “So fast. I should have expected that.”

“You really should have.”

Minako smiled and sighed. “Well let's go find the others while you think of something terrible to call me.”

She turned to walk away and Rei got an idea. She sidled up to Minako's side and put her mouth close to Minako's ear.

“Lead the way, _Mina_ ,” Rei purred.

Minako whipped around and sputtered. “ What was that?”

“Hm? Oh nothing. Let's go.”

“That's cruel, if you're gonna use a nickname at least let me hear it properly,” Minako said.

Rei smirked. “Maybe if you're on your best behavior I'll let you hear it again.”

Rei laughed at th e torn look on  Minako's face.  She  grabbed Minako's hand to pull her along and  felt that it was  nice to be on the other side of the teasing for once.


	24. Shrine 4

Shrine 4Over the next few weeks the five girls continued to meet up when their schedules aligned. Sometimes they would head over to the game center if they were free after school, other times they would go to Rei's shrine to sit and snack. They even went to the movies one weekend to see a terribly cheesy romance that Rei would have been fine never seeing. Everyone else seemed into it, even Ami who blushed fiercely at the ending kiss.

Through it all Rei felt strangely light. For once she had people around her who didn't pity her for her mother's death or suck up to her because of her father's position. She grouped up with Ami and Makoto in class and chatted with them easily. When Minako and Serena came for lunch she joined every day instead of every other. She even looked forward to her little matches with Minako in PE. Either Minako kept her teasing light or Rei's tolerance towards it had grown, because she enjoyed most of her time with the other girl.

Rei had yet to go to a volleyball game. Most weekdays she hurried back to the shrine to help her grandfather, and there had been no weekend games since she had agreed to go to one. The regular season ended and the playoff schedule was set, with their school's team due to play on a Saturday. The Friday before the game Minako pestered Rei about going, and Rei assured the other girl that she would be there.

While tending to the shrine that evening Rei wondered what an actual volleyball match with serious competitors would look like. Facing Minako in gym class had shown Rei a glimpse of how well Minako could play, but she was sure that the other girl could reach another level against better competition. She found herself curious to see the full extent Minako's skills. Her serves had been incredible. More impressively she had taken a team of half-interested teens playing because they had to and been able to enforce some amount of structure and discipline onto them. Rei could easily imagine Minako's voice directing her team to set them up in the right positions.

Rei blinked and realized she wasn't imagining anything. She could hear Minako's voice across the courtyard of the shrine. She turned and there Minako was, walking with Rei's grandfather towards Rei. She watched them approach in disbelief. When they were close enough she greeted the blonde.

“ Minako.”

“Rei,” Minako returned with a smile.

“Well there she is,” her grandfather said. “I should get going before she yells at me. You know how she gets.”

“Do I ever,” Minako said and Rei glared at them both.

Her grandfather laughed and scurried away before Rei could say anything. She sighed.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she started for the kitchen. “I already said I would go to your game tomorrow.”

Minako followed her. “Maybe I just wanted to see you. Do I need a reason?” she asked.

"You always have one, even if it's just to annoy me," Rei said. Minako snorted but otherwise stayed silent and they reached the kitchen. Rei prepared a pot of tea and told Minako to grab snacks left over from one of their 'study' sessions. When the tea was done they moved to the fire room and sat across from each other. Rei frowned. Minako was being uncharacteristically quiet. Usually she would have suffered through half a dozen teasing remarks in the time it took them to get to the fire room. Either Minako really was easing off on her or something was weighing on the other girl's mind.

“So are you going to tell me what's wrong?” Rei asked. Minako looked surprised, then gave her half a smile.

“Nothing's really _wrong_ , just...”

“Just what?”

“My parents are coming back. For a little while at least.”

Rei blinked in surprise. She recalled what she knew of Minako's parents. They wanted Minako to have a somewhat traditional Japanese upbringing. They worked in a company together. They were ambitious to the point that they spent most of their time away from Minako, but had moved Minako when she had acted poorly at her previous school. They were too similar to her own father for Rei's comfort.

“Oh,” she said. She wasn't sure what else there was to say. “When will that happen?”

“They get in tomorrow. They told me a few days ago.”

“That's short notice,” Rei said.

Minako shrugged. “I'm sure they were busy with work.”

“And they didn't say how long they'd be in Japan?”

“No,” Minako said. “They said they'd help get a team going before heading back to London, so however long that takes.”

Rei tried to keep her face neutral. She could imagine the thoughts running through Minako's head. She had probably had similar thoughts about her father. She wasn't sure there was anything she could say that the blonde hadn't already thought of.

“Did they- did they talk about anything else?” Rei asked instead.

Minako shrugged. “Mom asked about school. I told her I passed all my midterms. She sounded surprised.” She tried to smile but it looked bitter to Rei. “Dad told me to keep working hard.”

“Minako...”

Minako cut her off. “Hey, let's not talk about them. I really came over just to see your pretty face.”

“I think we should talk about them.”

“It's fine. Really,” Minako said. “Let's call up the others, see what they're up to.”

Rei steeled herself. “When was the last time you saw them?” she asked.

Minako waved her hand airily. “I don't know, before I transferred? Come on, I'm gonna call Serena.” She pulled out her phone but Rei reached over and put her hand on top of Minako's.

“Minako that was months ago.”

Minako shrugged but she didn't move her hand or try to remove Rei's. “That's pretty normal for them. Sometimes I'll get a message checking up on me, but...”

“But what?”

Minako shrugged again. Rei took a deep breath.

“You said before that we both know what it's like to have distant parents, and my father _is_ never around,” Rei said. “But at least I have my grandfather. I'm not alone.”

At that Minako pulled her hand away and frowned. “Neither am I. I have you and Serena and-

Rei cut Minako off. “Is that the same? We can listen to your troubles and try to help you and spend time with you, but does that change the fact that they don't? That your parents don't? Does it erase the anger, the inadequacy you feel when you think about them living a life that doesn't include you?”

Minako's breathing grew heavier and her jaw clenched but she didn't say anything.

“We both know that it doesn't” Rei said for her.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. Her feelings towards her own father were surfacing and Rei struggled to understand how Minako coped with two absentee parents. Rei had her grandfather to come home to. As annoying as he could be, he also loved Rei unconditionally and was always willing to listen to Rei and share his own experiences with her. Who filled that role for Minako?

“This is why I didn't want to talk about it,” Minako said shakily. “Nothing will change, they're just going to leave for London when they're done here. I know that. I've accepted that.” She looked away. “I shouldn't have said anything.”

“I'm glad you did say something,” Rei said quietly. “You accused me of closing myself off and you know what? You were right. I didn't want to suffer the pain of abandonment again. If I didn't get close to anybody they couldn't hurt me. And my life was worse for that.”

Rei looked away for a moment to collect her thoughts. She had grown so used to Minako's bright and teasing personality that she had almost forgotten her hidden tragedy. Minako had seemed so composed when she had shared her history with Rei. Rei knew now that the other girl still struggled with her relationship with her parents.

“Let me turn your words around at you,” Rei said. “You shouldn't close yourself off. Let it all out.” She met Minako's eyes and held her gaze. “I can handle it.”

Minako considered her for a few moments. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling with what to say.

“I guess I still want them to pay attention to me. I told you they threatened to put me in a school in London if I didn't improve?” Rei nodded. “Sometimes I wonder if I should fail on purpose, just so they do.” She looked away from Rei. “They would have to see me if I were in London with them, right?”

Rei felt her anger rise. The irony and pain in Minako's voice told Rei the other girl didn't believe her own words. Rei's jaw clenched and her hands balled into fists. Minako wasn't supposed to sound like that, like her spirit had been crushed.

"They'd be around but they wouldn't see you, not really," Rei said. "They wouldn't know you."

Minako swallowed hard. “I know you're right, but I just… I just want them to care about me again.”

Rei's temper flared out of control.

“You're a lot of things, Mina,” she said. “You're annoying and a pest. You're excitable and irritating.”

She leaned forward and with every word spoke more quickly, more urgently. “And you also have a big heart. You wanted to help me avoid the pain that you went through- that you're still going through. You're quick-witted, and personable, and a lot of fun to be around.” Her breathing quickened, her anger at Minako's parents mixing with her anger at her own father.

“You said Serena and Ami and Makoto are special, well you are too. If your parents can't see that, then they don't deserve to have you as a daughter. Whatever happens with your parents they can't change what you are. If they come around and care about you, good. If they can't or won't, that's their loss. I said we can't replace your parents, and that's still true, but we do care about you, no matter what. Always remember that.”

The silence after she finished rang in Rei's ears- or maybe it was her pulse, high as it had risen with her passion. She couldn't read the look Minako was giving her and she stiffened, suddenly aware of everything she had said. Had she crossed a line? Had she said too much? And what had she even said?

Fun to be around, personable, _special_? She had even admitted to caring about her. Rei knew her perception of Minako had changed as she learned more about the other girl but she hadn't realized by how much.

At the same time she knew that every word had been true. Minako had pushed into her life and changed it for the better. Rei never realized that she had been going through life on autopilot. Her life had consisted of school and shrine duties and she did both mechanically, never indulging in anything for her own enjoyment. She never let anyone close to her, sure that like her parents, they would leave. But now she looked forward to her time spent with her friends, and as for Minako- Rei couldn't imagine her life without that annoying blonde in it.

After a few moments Minako looked at her untouched tea. She looked deep in thought, like she was processing Rei's words. Rei hoped she took them to heart. It would be worth the embarrassment of expressing her authentic feelings if Minako felt better about her situation. When Minako finally looked up there was a familiar glint in her eye.

“You really think I'm special?” she asked, tone teasing.

Rei's face began to heat up but she lifted her chin and set her shoulders. She may as well let it all out while she was being honest. “There's a reason I keep responding to your provocations. You never cross any lines- push them, maybe, but never cross them. And when I'm around you I just… I just feel the need to keep up. And, especially lately, I've enjoyed our… I don't know, competition? Game?”

Minako looked surprised, probably not expecting Rei to continue to be serious. “Here I thought I was the only one having fun,” she said. She looked away. “I'm glad I was wrong.”

“I've been happier the past few weeks than I've ever been,” Rei said. She knew her face must be bright red, but she soldiered on. “And you're the reason for that.”

“If you keep praising me like that I might never leave your shrine,” Minako said.

Despite her joke Rei noticed that the other girl's ears were red. Who knew the key to embarrassing Minako was genuine praise?

“You could try, but I know how to perform exorcisms on unwanted spirits,” Rei returned.

Minako laughed quietly. After a beat she spoke. “Thank you, Rei. I really just wanted to take my mind off my parents tonight, but I'm glad you said something.”

“I am too,” Rei said quietly. “I'm… I'm glad you could open up to someone.”

Minako looked away. “I don't think it could have been anyone else. Not many people could understand what it's like.”

“Yeah,” Rei said. “If you ever need someone to listen to you, or a place to stay for a night, well… we are a shrine after all. We're willing to help wayward souls.”

“I appreciate that,” Minako said with a smile. Her smile twisted into smirked. “And I'm sure that's only because you're a miko and not because you said you care about me.”

“I don't know what you're talking about, your delusions are getting out of control,” Rei said. Minako laughed and despite her returning blush Rei smiled. After such a heavy conversation it was nice to hear Minako laugh again, and Rei was glad that she was the one to make it happen.


	25. Playoffs

The next evening Rei headed to the school to watch Minako and the volleyball team play. She was glad the game was late in the day, when the shrine was quieter. Of course, when she had talked to her grandfather about attending the game his eyes had lit up. He guessed correctly that Minako was the reason for her interest in going to a volleyball game, and when it came time for her to leave for school, he practically shooed her off the shrine grounds.

She had never been to any school team's game before. Her sense of school pride was minimal, as was her interest in sports. Even without her shrine duties she doubted that she would attend an inter-school competition. Yet here she was, riding a bus to school on a Saturday to watch a game she didn't care about. Rei snorted to herself. She was always making exceptions for Minako.

While rode the bus her mind turned to their conversation from the previous night. She wondered if Minako's play would be effected by thoughts of her parents. After their conversation Rei felt that Minako had turned a corner, but there was always a possibility that the blonde would still be distracted, or even that their conversation itself could throw her off her game. It had certainly thrown Rei for a loop.

She had long known that there was more to Minako than her bubbly image showed. Even during their earliest clashes Rei could tell Minako wasn't a complete airhead, especially considering how often Minako took the upper hand in them. But Rei was still startled every time Minako's more serious side came out. And her serious side wasn't limited to talking about their parents- Rei remembered the kiss they shared at the sleepover very well. That look in Minako's eyes, her tongue in Rei's mouth, the feel of her own hand on Minako's bare skin. Rei felt her cheeks heat up. It was a kiss she might never forget.

While she tried to cool her thoughts the bus arrived at her stop. There was a short walk to the school, and as she got closer she spotted Ami and Serena waiting for her just outside of the main gates. Ami spotted her first and nudged Serena, who squealed and dashed out to meet her. Rei grumbled about the blonde's excitement, but allowed herself to be pulled along to the auditorium. Serena insisted that they stop by the concession stand for snacks, and after they did they took seats in the bleachers.

“You two have been to a game before, right?” Rei asked after they sat.

“Yeah, we've been to a lot. We started coming after Minako invited us the first time,” Serena said through a mouthful of food. She swallowed. “They're so much fun. Minako is so impressive the way she leads the team and Makoto looks so cool when she gets to spike the ball.”

“And they're pretty good, right?” Rei asked.

“I believe they're ranked third in the prefecture,” Ami said.

“But even the games they lost were close, right Ami?” Serena asked.

“Every loss came down to the last set,” Ami confirmed.

“So even though this is a playoff game they're probably going to win?” Rei asked.

“Most probably,” Ami said. “They might not face one of the higher ranked teams for another round or two.”

“Makes me wonder why I even came,” Rei said flatly.

“To support our friends of course,” Serena said. “What if they start losing and need our energy to come back and win?” Rei snorted but kept to herself her belief that their presence would have no bearing on the outcome of the game.

The teams came out of their locker rooms and started warming up. Minako was easy to spot with her blonde hair. Makoto took a little longer to spot as there were several tall girls on the team. When they spotted their friends Serena shouted and waved frantically to get their attention. Minako and Makoto looked up, laughed, and waved back. Minako blew a kiss as well.

While they waited for the game to start Rei watched Minako. She looked completely at home surrounded by her teammates. She was chatting and laughing easily with a group of girls as they hit a volleyball around. It was hard to believe she had only transferred in a few months before. Rei knew the other girl was a sociable person, but the ease with which she made friends left Rei a little amazed. She could handle talking to visitors at the shrine as a miko, but she usually found the people around her to be boring or annoying or both. Minako seemed able to get along with anyone. Even someone like herself, Rei thought sardonically.

Warm-ups ended and the teams took the court. Minako and Makoto were among the starters for the their team. The other team had the ball first and served to start the first set. Rei remembered Minako's impressive serve in gym class but even this lower ranked school had a player that seemed comparable in terms of speed and power. The home team handled it easily however, one of the girls knocking the ball high in the air. Minako called the other girls off and pointed to a spot along the net. Makoto took a few steps back then darted forward. Minako hit the ball lightly, perfectly setting Makoto up for a spike. Makoto jumped with a raised arm and whipped it forward, sending the ball through the other team's defenders and crashing onto the court. They had won the first point.

Their team got the ball and Minako walked past the back line to serve. She took a running start, threw the ball in the air, and met it forcefully with her hand. Rei was startled at the ferocity of the serve. Minako must have been holding back in class. The ball screamed over the net and turned sharply down. Someone on the other team got a hand on it before it hit the ground but it careened wildly off to the side.

The opposing team failed to return her next serve as well, but they managed to control the third one and the game began in earnest. Even though they were only high school athletes, the difference in the level of play between school teams and gym class teams was staggering. Both teams moved with purpose. On defense some girls stayed near the net, ready to jump and attempt to block spikes. Other defenders bounced balls high in the air so setters could get under them and set up the tallest players for spikes. Both teams flowed like water, reacting to the ball and the actions of the other team.

The communication was impressive as well. Minako took the lead there, her voice ringing out over the din of other team, the audience in the stands, and the impact of the ball on skin or ground as she directed her team to different positions. Their discipline and skill allowed them to grow their lead, and before long the first set ended in a substantial victory for the home team.

There was a brief break between sets. Serena again called out to Minako and Makoto who waved back at her. Minako added a v-for-victory sign as well. A cheer went up from the crowd in response and Rei realized it had grown quite a lot. She hadn't realized their school cared about volleyball so much. When the team took the court again another thought hit her. Maybe those uniforms helped draw the crowd.

Rei had never seen their school's volleyball uniform in person, and she was stunned by how revealing they were. The tops were nothing special, but those shorts! She was sure she had never seen so much leg in her entire life.

Minako especially caught her eye. Rei focused on her as she moved around the court with grace and purpose, always in the perfect position to set up an attack. When the other team had the ball she crouched down in a defensive posture and Rei had to swallow heavily. When Minako served she threw herself through the air, and the way her body arced and her hair went wild took Rei's breath away. Even her voice commanded attention, loud and clear as it was. Rei knew Minako was beautiful when she first laid eyes on her, but now, seeing Minako at her best and in her natural element, Minako was enchanting.

The second set ended and Rei blinked. She had spent the entire time staring at – ogling, if she were honest with herself- Minako. Serena and Ami next to her didn't seem to have noticed her scrutiny of the blonde. They had probably been too busy cheering normally.

“This is so exciting,” Serena said. “If they win here then they'll move on to the next round.”

“They've played quite well tonight. Maybe our presence here did help them,” Ami said with a smile.

Serena took advantage of the break between the sets to check out the concession stand again and returned with a box of candy. She shared some with Ami and Rei, and Rei tried to calm herself while she ate. Minako was having a tremendous effect on her and she couldn't figure out why. Was Minako that different to how she usually was? Was it the uniform? Rei didn't know, but she already knew that Minako would insist she come to the rest of her team's playoff games.

“How many rounds are there in the playoffs?” she asked.

“I think there are three rounds before the finals,” Ami said.

Rei nodded. Potentially three more rounds of watching Minako play- or at least trying to watch her play. Rei frowned. If she was going to sit through three more matches then she would have to get to the bottom of why she was so distracted by Minako.

The third set started with the other team serving. Rei kept her eyes determinedly on the ball as it was hit back and forth. She swore she wouldn't so much as glance at Minako again until the game was over. When the ball reached Minako she ignored her as best she could. When Minako served she ignored the confident way the other girl walked back to the server's spot. When their team won a point she ignored the way Minako jumped up and down. When they lost a point she ignored Minako clapping and resetting her teammates, not allowing them to dwell on any mistake.

Rei cursed herself. If the home team lost a point then the ball was with the other team. So why wasn't she watching it like she had planned to? She sighed in resignation. Minako was a magnet, constantly pulling Rei's attention to her and only her. She wanted to look away but she just couldn't.

Luckily for her the set ended quickly in a rout. Minako and her team would advance to the next round. Rei would have to sit through at least one more match. The teams lined up to shake hands and Serena grabbed Rei and Ami.

“Come on, let's go congratulate them,” she said.

Together the three of them made their way out of the stands. When they reached court level the team began celebrating their win with a cheer. They waited for the team to finish before trying to find their friends. When the team was done celebrating they started to head for the locker rooms to change and Serena called out for Makoto and Minako. Makoto spotted them easily and she tapped Minako. Together they broke off from the team to see them.

If Minako had been beautiful from the stands, she was stunning up close. She was flush with exertion, excitement, and happiness. The biggest smile Rei had ever seen graced her lips. She stood confidently, proud of a match well-played.

While Serena and Ami showered the two with congratulations, Rei couldn't speak. When Minako turned her attention and that smile on Rei, Rei's breath caught in her throat.

“So, what did you think? Did you have fun?”

Rei swallowed and tried to collect herself.

“It was more than I expected,” she answered truthfully. She certainly hadn't expected to see a shining goddess of victory today.

“More what?” Minako pressed. “Exciting? Entertaining?”

Rei took a breath and composed herself as much as possible. She reminded herself that this was Minako, the most annoying girl in the world who actively went out of her way to bother Rei.

“Loud,” Rei said dryly.

Minako pouted. “Is that all?” she asked.

Rei remembered that this was Minako, the girl with a troubled history who understood Rei and went out of her way to help her. “And impressive. Blowing out another playoff team can't be easy.”

Minako grinned. “Then you'll come to the next one?”

“Maybe the next game will be closer. A blowout is impressive but it's not very exciting.”

Serena cut in with plans to go to Crown for games and food as a celebration and Minako quickly accepted. They all agreed to meet in front of the school and head over together, but before she returned to the locker room Minako turned to Rei.

“If you want exciting, then next game I'll give you a show you'll never forget,” she said with a smirk.

She dashed off with Makoto to change and Rei laughed to herself. Without even realizing it Minako had already given her a show she would never forget.


End file.
